Till Death Do Us Part
by PrincessYuuki
Summary: Yuuki's heart is broken into pieces as soon as she knows her best friend , her true love , is dead. But.. Has Zero really disappeared ? #COMPLETE
1. UnDead

**Disclaimer :** I do not own Vampire Knight ( sadly XD ).

All the rights belong to Matsuri Hino .

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Chapter one

**(Un) Dead**

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It was a cold , winter night . Rain poured from the sky , making a _tic tack_ sound , splashing against the obscured windows of the Hunter Association Headquarters . It was very late , and every light of the building was turned off , covering the entire block with a surreal and dark aura .

In all this darkness , just one single , little light sparkled in the gloom , and it came from a room of a certain Vampire Hunter , which was now behind his desk , staring at the young , silver –haired man in front of him .

' So , this is the plan . We make those vampires believe you're dead and that the most feared Hunter is out of the way . They'll be foolish enough to march out in the open to attack us , and we'll , eventually , capture or exterminate them '.

The young man stared back at the man in front of him , his beautiful features contorted in a confused expression .

' I don't understand , Chairman . Do you seriously think they'll buy this ? I mean , I'm not that easy to kill , you know ..' , he smirked .

' That's why we arranged a meeting with one of the Hanadagi Clan ' . The Vampire Hunter searched for a file on his desk , and then handed it to the silver – haired man , who started reading the papers.

' They'll say that they witnessed your murder during an attack but that they couldn't do anything to help you , because they were surrounded by a huge group of Level Es. If some Purebloods can attest this , everyone will ,of course ,believe them , and our plan won't fail .' He stated .

' Why would those Purebloods help us ? They could betray us . They're Vampires too '.

' They won't . We have a deal . If they stick with the plan , they'll have diplomatic privilege . It's important for them to have the Hunters by their side , so I'm positive about the fact they'll help us. And besides , they want to get rid of those level E's as much as we do … Are you in ? ' The Chairman asked , a serious tone in his usually cheery voice .

The silver haired man though about it , then nodded .

' I am '.

The Vampire Hunter behind the desk smiled , and stood up , a satisfied look on his face . He was about to leave the room when the voice of his adopted son reached him.

' Just one more question , Chairman '.

'Sure . What do you want to know ? ' He stopped .

' How will I die ? I mean , what are you going to tell them? '

The old man didn't answer right away , he just stared into deep , moonstone eyes , with a strange feeling in his heart .

' We'll say you have been shot with an anti-vampire gun '.

' Through the heart ' …

The young man just nodded . Somehow , the whole situation seemed ironic to him .

He had always known he would have died that way . Whether it was fiction or reality .

His heart was bound to stop .

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_Two days later _

'Kaname – sama . May I ?' .

Aidoh Hanabusa , one of Kaname Kuran's minions , as well as one of the most known of the Night Class students of the prestigious Cross Academy , was standing in the doorstep of the living room of the Kuran Mansion, a deep frown on his face.

Kaname ,sitting on the dark red chaise longue with a lot of papers in front of him, glanced up where Hanabusa was standing . His sister Yuuki was right next to him , smiling .

'Of course , Aidoh . Come in . You don't need to ask anymore'.

' Hi , Idol – sempai ! ' Yuuki greeted.

Aidoh entered the room , smiling back at Yuuki and then turning to face Kaname.

'I just though you would want to read this letter , it's from the Hunter Association . It seems that yesterday some of the big wheels of the Hunters died during an attack . You are requested to attend the funeral '.

Kaname took the letter from his hands , and started reading it . It wasn't a big new that he was now involved with Vampire Hunter's matters. He had to be .

He read all the letter , completely ignoring the list of names which lied on the couch . Yuuki took it , reading distractedly .

And then she froze .

Her dead heart stopped beating , all the color draining from her rosy cheeks .

One of the names on that list was one she knew very well . A name she had called a thousand times. A name that was part of her life , her soul , her heart.

It was odd how a simple , black-written line could bring her so much pain.

- _Kiryuu , Zero . Deceased ._

Her vision became blurry , and the last thing she knew , she was falling into a black , empty void.

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**Author's note :** This is my first chapter of my first fanfic ! I really hope you'll enjoy this .Please review , if you can !


	2. UnForgettable

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Chapter two

**(Un) forgettable**

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_A YEAR AGO_

'Ouch ! What the hell? Shit!'

A boy with lavender eyes was cursing under his breath . He had tried to reach for his bed in the darkness , but he ended up stubbing his toe against the nightstand , making his best friend , a short brunette with chocolate brown eyes , laugh like crazy.

' What are you laughin' at , midget? ' he said trying to sound mad , but failing miserably . Her laugh simply made him want to smile . Thank God no one could see Zero Kiryuu smiling right now , or he would lose his reputation .

'Shouldn't you have a Super Vampire - Sight , jerk ?' she asked.

'Mmh , yeah . Whatever '..

She sighed, contentedly, and held him tight. She felt safe now.

'Zero?'

'Mmh?' he turned to face her.

'Thank you', she said . Even if it was very dark , she still saw him raise his eyebrows.

'For what ?' he asked , surprised.

'For letting me stay here , tonight . I was scared '. She really was…Her forgotten past continued scaring her , and she felt like she couldn't do nothing to escape it .

'You don't have to thank me for that , you know. Everyone has nightmares . ' he said.

'Even you?'. She couldn't picture Zero having nightmares. He was so strong…

'Even me'.

She felt very sad , hearing that . She had only thought about herself , the girl-with-no-past , while her best friend remembered his very well , unfortunately. It had to be terrible to remember how the people he cared about had died . She shivered .

'I'm sorry , Z.'

' Don't be , Yuuki '. He whispered.

'…'

She looked at him , who was now staring at the ceiling . He didn't speak . An idea came up to her mind , and she didn't know why but she wanted to ask him a question.

' Zero?'

' What is it?'

'Never mind. Nothing' . She had changed her mind . Maybe it wasn't the best idea to ask him that.

'Tell me .' he turned to face her and look at her in the eyes.

'No . I'm afraid you'll be angry at me' she stated.

' C'mon , shoot. It's not like I'm gonna bite you if I get mad , you know.' he said.

' Not now , at least ' he added , a mischievous smile on his lips.

Yuuki rolled her eyes , and gave up . She couldn't resist to his firm lavender eyes..

' What would you do if I were to die ? ' she finally asked.

The smile on his face disappeared . He thought about it for a moment , as if he already knew the answer but didn't want to tell it out loud.

A life without Yuuki … What would he do ?

'I'd probably kill myself '.

'You'd WHAT?' she was shocked . Did he care about her so much?

'You heard me , don't make me repeat that again '.

'But why would you do that?' she asked .

'Yuuki , you are my best friend – no , not my best friend…You are the only friend I have . I've lost everything dear to me .. So why should I stay alive ? I can't stand the thought of losing you too. Especially because I –' he stopped.

She was silent for a moment. She had listened to one of the longest speech her friend had ever given , and she was very surprised .

'You.. ?' she invited him to continue.

'Nothing'. He answered. She was about to force him to answer her , but he asked another question , that completely caught her off guard.

'What about me dying. What would YOU do?'

'What the fuck of a question is that? I don't want to even think about it !'

'You just asked me the same thing , Yuuki '. He surely had a point.

'…You're right..'

'So?'

'I don't want to think about it . I don't want anything to happen to you . I need you too much ..' she admitted.

He smiled one of his rare smiles .

' Then I'll die when I'll feel that Yuuki Cross has stopped needing me ' he joked .

'That sounds as a good solution , Z ' she said.

He looked at her , a fake offended look on his face.

'Because I'll never stop needing you ..' she added , smiling. 'Promise me that you won't die , as long as I need you !'

' I can't promise you that .. It's not like I can decide when I do die , you know ..'

' Promise ! Jerk!'

' Alright , alright. '

'_I promise' …_

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**Author's note : ** Flashback chapter ! ;D .. I hope you're liking the story so far ;)


	3. UnSpoken

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Chapter three

**(Un) Spoken**

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She had been staring at the broken mirror in front of her for what it seemed like eternity.

Eternity.

That word didn't matter to her anymore . She could only see nothingness in it.

She had thought she would have lived forever , always running from her best friend , someone who hold part of her heart , in order to keep him alive .

She had thought she would have had a chance to be with him again ,one day . She had thought that , with time , maybe he could have forgiven her for what she was , for what she did to him .

And now she was getting ready to go to his funeral.

His . _Funeral . _

The thought hit her . Hard . She felt like her heart was going to shatter , if it hadn't already .

Million pieces of glass cutting her inside . The pain was unbearable .

At first , she had hated him . Had he forgotten about his promise ? Why didn't he fight for his life? He knew she needed him , didn't he?

She had told him that once .

But then , she hated herself. It was her the one who had left him behind . She had forgot about their time together , and she had started a new life , without him.

She couldn't blame him now, for giving up .

He must have thought she didn't need him anymore…

_What were you thinking about , when you lost me too ?_

' Yuuki . Are you ready?'

A soft knock at the door made the remains of her heart beat faster . Every beat was so painful she thought her chest was about to explode .

Kaname entered the room , hesitantly .

He was dressed completely black , just like her . She froze . She realized that it was happening , it was true , it wasn't a strange dream .

She was going to tell him goodbye forever.

Forever.

She wasn't ready at all.

'Are you ok?' Kaname asked , uncertain , a tone of pure worry and even _fear_ in his voice.

Apparently , screaming like a crazy woman and breaking half of the windows of the mansion wasn't the reaction he had expected from her . She had scared him a lot , before , when the news had registered in her brain .

That's because he couldn't understand her . She knew that deep down , he was even happy that Zero was out of the way .

She stood up , looking everywhere but never at her brother.

'Let's go'.

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'I'm going to your funeral , dude. See ya later '.

Takamiya Kaito , a tall boy with brown hair , strode off the door , leaving a very mad silver haired boy behind him . The door closed with a loud shut.

'Why do you get to walk around freely and I'm **stuck** here pretending to be dead ? ' he asked , but his friend had already left .

'Jeez , what a pain in the ass ' Zero said , to no one in particular .

Why had he agreed to this? Now he had to stay closed in that damn apartment. He couldn't risk someone to see him. Shit.

He wanted to go out …

When his mind wasn't occupied with something , his thoughts always wondered to a dangerous topic . Or better , his thoughts always led him to _her_ .

He wondered if she had been informed about his 'death' .

But of course she had been .

She was the princess of the vampire race.

_I would really want to know how you feel about now_… he thought .

Are you sorry ? Even a little bit ?

'Yuuki'…

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'_We're here today to commemorate three of the best men of the Hunter Association , who –'_

Yuuki shut that voice out . She could hear just a few , incoherent words .

She hadn't even noticed that the man who was uttering the funeral speech was her foster father , Kaien Cross.

'_- so unexpected , they were unprepared ..' _

Her attention was only focused on one of the three coffins .One with no flowers . No crying family around.

There was just one friend for him . It wasn't even her. And -

' – _and Zero Kiryuu '_

And she couldn't take it anymore.

She didn't care if half of the entire vampire society was looking at her. She didn't care if they thought she was weak. She cried silently.

She wanted to reach the patio garden , open that damn coffin and touch his perfect face once again.

But then, she remembered that he had been a vampire. And vampires , when they die , just leave some dust behind them. He wasn't there anymore.

The realization hit her badly. The horror and the shock on her face was clearly evident.

He – her Zero , his face , his hands , were now just a pile of _ashes_ .

She stood up. Everyone stopped speaking for a second to look at her.

She turned.

And fled.

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**Author's note** : Sad and angsty chapter :'( , I know . But I promise things will get better in the next one :) Please review!


	4. UnBelievable

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Chapter four

**(Un) Believable**

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' You're back'.

Zero watched as his foster father Kaien Cross and his friend Kaito entered his apartment.

It was a grey afternoon , and Zero was starting to get annoyed . He had spent THREE whole days caged in his own house. He wanted to be free again .

' Unfortunately . I'd have rather stayed … It was kinda..entertaining…' Kaito smirked. The Chairman didn't say a thing.

'Why ? What happened?' Zero asked , curiosity in his voice . _Had they not believed their plan?_

' The little Kuran missie put up a scene .. You should have seen her ! She-'

'What?' Zero couldn't believe his ears … Yuuki? So she was there ..

'Kaito , there's no time for this ' the Chairman reproached him , and then turned to talk to Zero.

'You have to get ready to kill those Level Es , or the farce we made up will be useless'.

' Chairman –' Zero argued.

'Zero , go . Yagari told me they 'll be at the cemetery . The Hanadagi's are already here , to help us.'

'It's our last chance' .

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She didn't know where she was anymore.

She had ran into the woods without knowing where she was heading , all she could think of was to distance herself from _him_ .

It had been too much painful for her to handle , to be at the funeral .

And now she was in the middle of nowhere , watching the night and the snow fall . She wasn't scared .

She was so glad Kaname hadn't sent someone to search for her . Maybe he understood that she needed some time alone .

He did know she would come back . She was such a coward .

She couldn't even face reality .

Yuuki looked behind her . Maybe she could go back to the cemetery using her sense of smell. She was a pureblood after all , wasn't she ?

She started walking .

Ten minutes later she felt she was getting closer . She could smell the grass and flowers …

It was then that she heard the first gunshots .

She stopped , surprised .

She could hear the sound of a lot of voices coming from the cemetery . They were shouting, arguing , fighting .

She could sense that something was very wrong , she could smell a lot of Level Es , and then-

'Kaito , watch out !'

She heard a voice that she thought she'd never hear again . She could recognize _his_ voice anywhere.

Heart beating wild , Yuuki started running again towards the cemetery , not caring that the branches and the brambles around her were making her bleed.

She stepped in the clearing , there were people fighting and killing each other . There was fire , and a lot of confusion.

But she couldn't hear or see that mess at all .

She was focused on a tall young man with silver hair and amethyst eyes , who was standing some feet away from her . But , most important , who was , clearly , _alive _.

He hadn't noticed her , he was too concentrated on the fight .

Yuuki's eyes were vacant , like a glass doll's. She wondered if she was dreaming , or even sleeping , because she couldn't believe that he was really here .

She had just moved one foot towards him , that the bullet hit her , and she felt like falling backward.

While touching the ground , she found herself staring into deep lavender eyes , which were now looking , stunned , into her chocolate ones.

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**Author's note :** Cliffhanger ! :D So now Yuuki and Zero are reunited…what will happen next ? ;D


	5. UnChanged

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Chapter five

**(Un) Changed **

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He had been so shocked.

When the smell of her blood had hit him , he obviously had recognized it , but when he had turned to look at her , the woman he saw was not like the one he had expected.

Yes – she was Yuuki . But she didn't look like her .

The light from her eyes was gone , suppressed by a vacant stare . She was paler than usual and there were dark circles around her eyes.

The worst thing of all , however , was the worrying dark red stain which was spreading on her blouse.

_She is a Pureblood Vampire ,_ he thought . _A bullet can't kill her._

But she is _Yuuki !_

After passing the last year without showing emotions , Zero Kiryuu felt fear .

But he had been more afraid when the fragile person in front of him closed her eyes and collapsed gracefully to the ground.

He shot every Level E in his way with fury . The only thing he wanted the most was to reach her and _help_ her .

He kicked himself mentally.

He had sworn to kill her , to stay away from her , because she wasn't _his _Yuuki anymore , the human , sunny and cheery girl he had loved so much.

She was a vampire now , a Pureblood , and she was Kuran's fiancée.

But as long as he tried to convince himself that the old Yuuki didn't exist anymore , deep down , in his heart , he knew that apart from some of her appearances , she hadn't changed .

She was still herself . _His_ Yuuki. His best friend , his ally , his .. love .

When he reached her , he didn't even notice that his mission – killing the dangerous vampires for the Association – was accomplished.

He took her in his arms , ready to carry her away to help her heal and make her rest .

The wound wasn't very deep , fortunately , and he was sure that thanks to her pureblood powers , she would be fine in a few days .

' Where do you think you are going?'

Kaito' s voice reached him and he turned.

The other Hunters were cleaning everything up , and didn't even notice he was leaving . But Kaito always kept an eye on him .

'We have to go back and report to the Association that-'

'No. You go ' Zero said decisively. ' I have to do something first ' he added.

'Like helping _her_ ?' Kaito pointed at the fainted girl in his friend's arms. ' What happens to her isn't your business ,she's not what she used to be !'

But Zero wasn't listening anymore.

He turned , leaving Kaito behind , and headed to his house , carrying the only thing he held dear .

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'Yuuki'.

She had her eyes closed , but she felt a familiar , husky voice calling her . She smiled . If it was a dream , she didn't want to wake up .

She wanted to continue listening to that voice forever . She had missed that . A lot.

'Yuuki , wake up , please ' he begged.

No . She didn't want to wake up . Why was he insisting ? He was getting annoying . But she kept smiling in her sleep , enjoying the sound of his voice , which reminded her the time passed at Cross Academy , when _he_ had to keep calling her to make her get off the bed.

'You know , you really look like a dork now' she heard him say . She mentally made an offended face .

' And you drool ' he added.

'That's not true !' her chocolate brown eyes shot up angrily , only to meet an amused lavender pair right in front of her.

Her expression melt into an incredulous one .

'I'm dead !' she stated , not quite believing herself . The silver haired boy raised his eyebrows.

'No , you're not ' he said , studying her face .

'So I am .. sleeping ?' she asked , confused.

'Nope.'

'…' They looked into each other 's eyes for a long moment , before Yuuki broke the silence , asking another question.

'Have I lost it ?'

'Damn Yuuki . No . You're not crazy , not dead , not sleeping . You are awake and alive ' he answered . ' But it took you a long while to recover from your wound . You've been unconscious for one day and half ' his face was contorted into a worried expression , and he was still studying her curiously , like he expected her to do something odd at any moment.

Her wound? Her _what_?

Suddenly , memories came rushing back into her mind . The funeral , the forest , the cemetery , the bullet.

Zero. Dead Zero , and then alive Zero.

She started realizing the truth .

She raised a trembling hand and touched lightly his cheek . She was afraid he could dissipate the moment she would touch him.

But he didn't .

He stared at her , surprised by her gesture.

Her eyes watered and she started sobbing. She threw herself at him , holding him tight .

She was never letting him go again . Never.

'Oh , Z. I thought you were dead !' she whispered . ' How is it possible that you're here? They told me -'

She stopped abruptly . She had almost forgotten that they weren't friends anymore .

But Zero was looking at her like the past year hadn't happened .

'It was a plan the Hunters made up to kill some vamps.'

She looked at him , her eyes puffy , still not believing how lucky she was to have him back. Damn those hunters . If she knew who made up that plan , she would kick his ass off to no end.

'By the way , I've called Kuran .'

'What ? You called onii-sama ?' she asked in disbelief . Oh no . _No no no .. __He was going to come and take her back to the mansion , he was going to separate her from Zero ! It was too soon , she couldn't !_

She started to hyperventilate .

'He came here to see how you were, yesterday ' . She looked around her searching for her brother . Was he there? Actually , she didn't know where _she_ was . She had never seen that place before.

As if Zero had read her mind , he added ' He's not here. He left .'

She stared at him to find the trace of a lie . It wasn't possible that Kaname left her with Zero. They hated each other !

But all she could read in his beautiful eyes was the truth .

'He told that you … That you could stay . For a while ' he hesitated , embarrassed , then spoke again.

'If you want to ..'

She was shocked . Kaname told him that she could stay for a while ? Stay? With…him ? Zero?

She was allowed to spend some time with him ?

'Did he really say that ?' she asked , incredulous .

'Well , he wasn't really happy about it and it clearly wasn't his idea , that's for sure ..' he replied .

She realized that he was still looking at her , waiting for her answer . He was nervous , she could tell. She knew him too well.

But instead of telling him that yes , she would stay , she took his big hand in her smaller one and held it .

' Do you still hate me ? ' she asked , whispering . She feared his reaction . She couldn't look into his eyes , not now.

She had been afraid for a long while that he hated her for what she had become.

But his next words and actions surprised her more than anything that night.

'It's really you , isn't it ? You're still _her _'.

She smiled at him .

Without letting go of her hand , he buried his face on her neck , holding her .

'Then I could never hate you '.

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**Author's note :** :D And so here we are with chapter five … Do you like how the story 's going ? :) I hope you do ! *-*

Ps : A very huge hug to all my reviewers ! Thank you , thank you !


	6. UnFair

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Chapter six

**(Un) Fair**

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' Morning .. '

Yuuki entered the kitchen , a still sleepy expression on her face. She had stayed up all the night talking with Zero , telling him how she spent the last year in the Kuran Mansion and how much she had missed him during that time . He didn't speak much , as usual , he listened to everything she had to say , and when she asked what he did instead , he changed the subject and told her just a few things. They went to bed (or sofa , in Zero's case ) at almost 4 o' clock am , and she had now woken up at the sound of rattling in the kitchen . Zero was busy cooking at the moment , and she sat down at the table , looking at his back like mesmerized . It seemed like time had turned back : sleepy Yuuki sitting at the table , Zero cooking breakfast for her . It seemed like the old times at Cross Academy . She couldn't believe it .

'Yuuki?'

The sound of his voice made her return back to reality . She hadn't noticed that he had turned and was now looking at her intently , like he was expecting something from her. His amethyst eyes shone in the daylight and she found herself staring at him .

'Mmh? What is it? ' she asked .

'I just asked you if you wanted some pancakes ,' he told her , and then looked away . What was wrong with her that morning? She kept staring at him.

'Oh ! Sorry ! … I guess I was spacing out ! ' she said in a hurry and then took the plate he was offering to her .

' I noticed .' he sat down in front of her and started eating , without talking .

She was about to ask him something when she heard the sound of keys opening the front door in the next room and footsteps in the corridor.

The kitchen door opened and a tall young man with messy brown hair entered the room.

'Zero , there you are ! And the little Kuran missie , too ! ' he said . Yuuki raised her eyebrows. Who was this man ? He seemed to know her , though. She didn't remember seeing him anywhere .

Then it clicked .That man had been at the funeral , a few days ago . He was one of the hunters .

'Kaito . What are you doing here ? I didn't give you the keys so you could come and sneak up in my apartment when you want to ' Zero said , annoyed .

'Don't be so harsh , dude . I just came to tell you that Mr. Creepy wants to see you , and I wanted to make sure your little Pureblood didn't kill you .' he said . Then , as if he was seeing Zero for the first time , added ' Man , you're eatin' ! That's a nice improvement.'

Yuuki 's gaze shifted immediately to Zero . Why , he had been eating , hadn't he ? Now that she noticed , he looked thinner . And paler.

Zero , seeing Yuuki studying him , just turned to glare at the Kaito boy .

'Why does Cross want to see me ? ' he asked .

'Dunno . Ask him yourself ,' he headed towards the door . 'I'm going now . See ya '.

And with that , he left .

Zero stood up and turned to look at the brown haired girl in front of him.

' I'm gonna take a shower ' he stated . ' Do you want to go first ?'

'No , it's okay . You go first ' she said , and smiled .

He was about to leave when she called after him , and he stopped.

'Hey Z … can we go to town later ?' she asked . ' I haven't been there for ages , and besides..'

'..Kuran didn't bring your stuff , so you don't have any clothes with you ' he finished the sentence for her.

'Yeah ..'

' I had already thought about that ..'

'Uh , Zero?'

'Yeah?'

'What am I going to wear now ? I mean , to go out ' . Her blouse had been completely stained with blood and they had to throw it away , so Yuuki was now wearing one of his shirts .

'Look into my drawer and see if you find something ' he told her , and then headed towards the bathroom .

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Yuuki looked at the clothes in front of her with a frown on her face. She couldn't find something which could look like a dress , so she gave up , and chose one plain black shirt which was long enough to cover her up till her knee . She took it from the clothes hanger , and then started looking for a belt . Yeah , a belt could definitely make that shirt look like a dress .

If she remembered well , he always kept his uniform belts in a box , back at Cross Academy .

She started searching until she saw it . A box , hidden on the pavement of his drawer , under a pile of shirts . She knew it !

She took it from the drawer and then opened it .

She was expecting belts and ties, but she found something else .

Photos . A bunch of them . Photos of Zero and her . But mostly of her .

There were pieces of paper she and him had scribbled up during the lessons .

There were her stupid birthday cards and things that she had completely forgotten about .

But worst of all , and that made tears well up in her eyes , there was a frame , a frame she knew very well .

It was the one she decided to leave behind in her room when she left with Kaname.

'Yuuki , have you seen -'

Zero entered the room in his jeans and gray shirt ,his hair still wet , searching for something but then stopped , shocked , as soon as he saw her .

She was sitting on the floor , with _that _box in her lap . She was looking at the things he didn't want her to see the most .

The things that confirmed that as much as he had tried to forget about her , he couldn't .

He looked like he had been slapped . Her heart , on the other hand , stopped as she saw his reaction .

There was a long silence , until Yuuki broke it .

' I-I'm sorry !' she blurted . ' Really , Z , I'm so-'

'Stop apologizing ' he said , but he didn't look at her . ' It's nothing . I should have known you'd find it .' He flashed a mirthless smile .' You always had the ability of finding out stuff about me I don't want you to see..'

'I'm not apologizing for opening the box , Zero ' she said . _Even though I shouldn't have poked my nose into your stuff_ , she thought .

He looked at her teary face , his confused amethyst eyes searching for her reddish brown ones .

'Then why –'

'Because I left you behind !' she answered , and then stood up , taking a few steps towards him until they were almost touching .

'You were always there for me , and I –' she stopped . 'You're my best friend ,' she sobbed . ' How could I? I - '

' Yeah , ' he interrupted her ,taking both her wrists in his hands and shaking her playfully , 'how could you ? '

She was taken aback . Even if she didn't deserve his comprehension , she knew that Zero would have told something to ease her guilt . He always did . But now he didn't . And she understood , by the tone of his voice , how much she had hurt him .

He left her speechless .

'How could you ?' he repeated , this time with a defeated whisper . He let go of her .

'Stop crying ' he said , but when she didn't , he pulled her to sit on his bed , into his arms , stroking her hair gently . 'It's OK.'

She had hurt him , and now there he was , trying to comfort her , while it should be her the one comforting him . He let her come back to his life again , even if she was the worst of friends . She cried harder .

' I said stop , Yuuki '

She clung to his shirt.

'Uh , Yuuki , you're snot crying ,as usual' he chuckled . ' Naaasty ! You sure don't want the vamps to know how unattractive the Kuran Princess looks when she snots , do you ? '

She punched him in the arm . 'Couldn't you say something nicer ?' she said , her voice hoarse .

'Why ? I usually don't lie '

She looked up at him , offended , ready to argue , when she saw the playful and rare smile on his face , and she stopped whatever she was going to say .

She was captured by his eyes .

'I'm just kiddin' . You don't really – ' he was saying , but she pushed him backwards so that his head now lay on his bed.

'Yuuki ?' he breathed , surprised , seeing the strange look she was giving him.

And then , she didn't know what came over her , but she closed the space between their lips – she kissed him .

The kiss was slow , and sweet . He didn't respond at first , but then he surrendered himself to her and started kissing her back .

He closed his eyes . One of her tears slid down to his cheek , but he didn't even notice , all he could feel were her hands in his hair and her lips against his own .

It felt like the world stopped spinning .

There was just her .

When they parted , their foreheads touching , their eyes still closed , he murmured softly something against her lips , something he wished she could take seriously .

'Don't leave me …'

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**Author's note :** I really hope you enjoyed reading this one :)

Sorry for the late update but I was really , really busy these days ^^ *HUGS everybody who read my story so far *


	7. UnPredictable

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Chapter seven

(Un) Predictable

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'I can't remember the last time I went shopping ' Yuuki said smiling to Zero while they were walking down the streets of the city , looking from shop to shop.' Actually , I can't even remember when was the last time I went _out_ ' she corrected herself. On the contrary , she could remember very well how it was to spend the whole year at the mansion . Days seemed to slow down when she didn't have something to do . She , who was used to go running around the grounds of Cross Academy and do a lot of things , had been forced to spend her time in a restricted space , surrounded by what she hated the most : big , boring and dusty _books_ .

He looked down at her . ' He didn't let you out ?'

'Nope , he couldn't . He said it was way too dangerous ,you know ,after the whole Kaname-Kuran-killed-the-entire-vampire-council- stuff ,' she explained , and started pulling him with her towards one shop's windows , closing her small hand around his sleeve .

'Yeah , I heard about that ' he said , still looking at her . To his eyes , she was beautiful , even when her gaze wasn't directed at him . He still couldn't believe that she was here , with him . How much time had passed ? Just one year , but to him , it had felt like ages .

He watched as her face lit up , probably because she had seen something she'd liked . His heart constricted at the thought that one day , soon , her brother would come back to take her with him , leaving him alone again .

But she had kissed him , before . This did mean something to her , didn't it?

'Aww, Z ! ' her words cut his internal battle and brought him to reality . ' Look how cute is that dress !'

She was pointing at a blue dress on a mannequin . He liked blue . He liked how it brought out her eyes when she wore that color.

Damn . He had been with her just for two days and he was already turning into a lovesick puppy . Pathetic .

'Let's go then . Try it ' he said , stepping into the shop with her by his side . She walked ahead of him , heading quickly towards the shelves where the dresses where hanging . He was walking calmly behind her .

He couldn't fail to notice a guy into the shop that instead of listening to his girlfriend , was now staring right at Yuuki's butt . Zero quickened his pace to reach her and , while passing , sent the guy one of his worst death glares. The guy immediately looked away .

'Chicken' he whispered , still glaring at the boy . Yuuki turned , completely unaware of what just happened .

'What did you just say ?' she asked.

'Nothing ' he said , but he neared her and pulled her shirt lower , so that it covered her better .

'Zero?'

'You have to change yourself into something else – This shirt is way too short ' he said , looking away . The tips of his ears were turning pink .

Yuuki smiled .

'You know , you're cute when you act like that '

He turned to look at her now . ' Act like what ?'

She didn't answer , instead she raised herself on her toes and dropped a kiss on his cheek.

Then she headed to the changing - room , still smiling , leaving a rather stunned Zero behind her .

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Two hours later they were sitting at Yuuki's favorite café , the one she used to go a lot in the past . God , how much had she missed that place !

During their shopping-time , they had bought three dresses , a pair of shoes , one skirt and two blouses . Yuuki didn't want Zero to spend too much money for her , but he insisted and babbled something like _' money are meant to be spent ' _and _' I'm not a freakin' stingy '_ ( the tone he used to say this one made her laugh like for 10 minutes non-stop , especially because he kept asking her ' What's so funny'? and people kept staring at them ) .

She had even convinced him to buy something for himself , and each time he had tried something on she had been surprised of how much good-looking he could be when his features were relaxed and even happy . She didn't fail to notice that he was slowly showing his feeling more , and she was pleased with it .

After all that , they were a little tired so they decided to take a rest in the café . Yuuki had phoned her onii-sama to tell him that she was doing fine , and now they were relaxing , Yuuki eating one of her favorite parfaits , Zero drinking his coffee .

' So – you think we brought everything you needed , right? ' he asked , slowly wondering if they had forgotten something .

'Of course ,' she said , confident .' We didn't – OH !' she stopped abruptly , suddenly remembering something .

'What?'

'I didn't get any underwear ! ' she half –shouted , completely not minding she was in a public place. Everyone turned to stare at them . Zero's left eye started twitching .

' Do you mind to say that louder ? I think in the nearest town they didn't hear you well ' he whispered , nervous . He hated when people looked at him , it felt … embarrassing . She chuckled .

How could she have forgotten something so fundamental ? Underwear wasn't exactly something Zero could lend her , like he did with his shirts . Besides , he didn't have bras or something . The thought of Zero with a bra made her giggle almost hysterically .

' What are you laughin' at ? ' he asked . He just couldn't understand her. A minute ago she was panicking and now she was laughing like crazy . What passed through her mind he 'll never know . She was so unpredictable .

' Nothing ' she said , still giggling .

'By the way , we can go to the nearest shop, before going to Cross Academy ' he added.

'Wait'. Yuuki's face turned serious . ' We're going to Cross Academy ? Why ?' . She didn't know why but she felt really nervous about it . But the thought of seeing Yori-chan and the Chairman somehow thrilled her . She wanted to see them . She missed them!

'You heard Kaito , the old man wants to see me , probably because I skipped school for almost a week now .' he explained . 'And besides , he knows you're with me at the moment and I'm sure as hell he wants to see you as well ' .

She smiled .

'Let's go ' he said , standing up and offering her a hand to help her up . She took it .

Ten minutes later they were into an underwear store . Yuuki was searching for some under-garment she liked , when a shop assistant with curly black hair approached her and Zero.

'Miss , do you need help?' she asked .

Yuuki flashed a warm smile in her direction . ' I was just searching for a bra ' she said , holding one she had found and that she liked . 'But I think I've already found it ' she added , still smiling and pointing at the bra she was holding in her hand .

'Miss , I'm afraid that won't fit you !' the shop assistant said . Yuuki's smile dropped at the girl's remark . 'This one is way too big for you , dear !' she chuckled looking in Zero's direction as if expecting that he , too, would laugh at Yuuki . But only he didn't . He looked at Yuuki who had a mortified look on her face and he felt sorry for his best friend . She had always had the complex of being nearly flat- chested . He had always pulled her leg for that , but that girl's remark was plainly mean .

'I'm sure everything would fit just perfectly on her ,' he said , and then politely added ' But thank you anyway for your _help '_. The girl looked disappointed , but then she turned and approached another girl in the shop . Yuuki , on the other hand , was blushing for Zero's sweet remark .She looked like she was about to cry .

He stretched out a hand to brush her cheek like he used to do in the past when Yuuki was upset and he wanted to ease her worry .

They finished searching for something for Yuuki , brought it , and then exited the shop , in complete silence . Yuuki's cheery mood was ruined , because she had never been really confident , and Zero wanted her to be her usual self. He couldn't stand to see her like this .

'Never mind her ' he said , smiling gracefully . She couldn't help to think that for almost a second he had looked like Kaname .' She's only envious because you're beautiful while she looks like a scabby and fat cat after a car run on him ' . Now he definitely didn't look like Kaname .He would never say such things . Yuuki roared in laughter at how Zero-like that line had sounded and at how much he always could make her feel better .

'Seriously – have you seen her _butt_ ?' he smirked with his cocky smile .

'Zero Kiryuu ! You looked at her butt ! ' she exclaimed , offended . That Zero!

'It was not avoidable ! It was so big it covered my vision ' he said with mock concern ,and an anxious look on his face . 'it was scary ! ' he continued , this time with fake fright – she laughed even more at his priceless expression .

'Hhahaha ! C'mon , you're exaggeratin' now . She wasn't _that_ fat ! ' Yuuki said , trying to be nice even if she couldn't stand that bitch .

'She wasn't ? ' he asked , shocked . ' Oh my god , Yuuki ! She looked like a giant walrus ! '

And then she completely cracked down .

They continued making fun of that girl all the way to Cross Academy , and they were so concentrated on laughing and smirking and telling bad things about that shop assistant that they didn't even notice when they arrived in front of the Academy gates .

Yuuki stopped , a small smile still titling her lips , and she took in the sight of the grandiosity of the luxurious Cross Academy , where she had lived for almost ten years of her life .

And with Zero by her side , she felt like she 'd never left the only place she could recall as being her home .

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**Author's note : **And here we are with chappie 7 . Sorry if I made you wait almost a week , but I had to change some things in it .

You're probably wondering why Zero took Yuuki shopping and brought her all that stuff instead of taking her things at the mansion , but I'll explain that (hopefully) in the next chapter .

And yeah . I know that maybe the episode with the shop assistant didn't fit with the story and that Zero looked very OOC , but I HAD TO write something about bitchy-shop-assistants . Yep .

Seriously – who doesn't hate them ? Not all of them , of course… There are always exceptions , but most of them always try to find something wrong in you , even if there is nothing wrong . One once told me I couldn't wear green because green only looks good if you're blonde . SERIOUSLY ? Is there some kind of law about green shirts ? Jeez .

Never listen to shop assistants.. Hahaha ;D This is my advice .

Oh , and btw : I have NOTHING against overweight people . It's just that Yuuki is very skinny and I had to find someone which was her opposite . That's all .

I seriously hope you like how the story is going so far . I hope it will get better each time :)

Kisses.


	8. UnDecided

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Chapter eight

**(Un) Decided**

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' YUUKI – CHAAAN ~ !'

As soon as the Chairman opened his door , he greeted his adopted daughter with his usual cheery attitude , hugging Yuuki with one of his best Daddy's Hugs Ever and screaming like a crazy fangirl . Yuuki was happy , even if the Chairman could be really annoying at times , he had been her family for a long time , and she had missed him a lot during her year away . She was glad she could get to meet him again .

Zero entered the Chairman's apartment just one second after Yuuki , carrying all her stuff and the shopping bags . Kaien 's face lit up again , and he ran towards Zero to hug him too .

'Zerorin ! You're here , too !' he squeaked in delight . Zero stared at his figure approaching in horror , and he pushed him away to avoid his hug .

'Jeez , old man ! How many fuckin' times do I have to tell you not to call me like that? ' he spat , annoyed .

'Language , Kiryuu – kun ' the Chairman scolded . Yuuki started chuckling by looking at them . Their relationship hadn't changed much , had it ?

Kaien turned to look at her again , and he smiled .

'C'mon , children ! Don't stay here , come in , come in !' they were still in the hall , so he invited them in the kitchen . Yuuki looked around her , and she felt a lot of nostalgia to walk again in the house she grew up in . She looked at the wooden table where she , Zero and the Chairman used to eat and chat all the time and she felt a pang in her heart . Suddenly , she wanted to come back to study at the Academy again . She would have never thought she would have wished that . She had always hated school .

'Zero-kun , I heard the Dorm President wanted to talk with you' Kaien said , while he approached the cooker to prepare dinner . At Zero's questioning look , he added 'You know , since you missed a lot of lessons , lately ..'

'Oh , yeah .. It's better if I go , then , before dinner . ' Zero said , and after dropping the shopping bags on the couch , he started heading outside . 'See you later '. With that , he left .

Yuuki wanted to go with him , because she wanted to see again the school and the dorms , but she stayed with her foster father , since they hadn't seen each other for a long time and she wanted to talk with him .

'So , how have things been going , my dear Yuuki?' the Chairman asked , smiling, while he chopped some vegetables on the table . ' And Kaname –kun , how is he?'

Yuuki sat at the table and started telling him everything : how she and Kaname had been living at the Kuran Mansion , how she had kept studying with Aidoh – sempai , how she spent her days while Kaname was busy working to reestablish the peace between hunters and vampires … and much more .

After telling him all this stuff , she asked him how school had been going , and her foster father told her how the Academy had changed after she left : he had indeed canceled the Night Class , since the Moon Dorms had come crashing down after the battle with Rido , and now there was only the Day Class , which wasn't even called 'Day Class ' anymore . The Academy had become just a normal school , and she felt very sad to hear that . Nevertheless , she was very glad she could get to visit the school again and be with the Chairman like the old times .

' I'm so happy to see you again ! ' she said , cheerful , after they had finished bringing themselves up to date .

'Oh , I'm really happy too Yuuki . But… I'm worrying about the consequences of your … visit ' Kaien said awkwardly , and Yuuki's happy expression melted away .

' Consequences ?' Yuuki looked confused in the Chairman's fair eyes . ' I don't understand '

He looked at her and he seemed a lot older . 'Yuuki , dear , we both know that in a week or two you're going back to the Mansion ' he explained . ' I'm thinking about how Zero will take it … You shouldn't make him hope in vain '. He looked like he was scolding her for she something she shouldn't have done .

'Hope in vain ? But I-'

'Listen, Yuuki .' he interrupted her .' When you left , he was broken , completely . For weeks he didn't even eat , or talk , or show any sign of life in his eyes . I don't want that to happen again .. I care about you both . You're my children ! So… I think that if you're not planning to stay , you should leave , soon , before he gets too much attached to you again '.

Yuuki was completely hurt now . She hadn't expected her sweet , caring , father to tell her such things , to push her away from him . But she knew that he was right , and she felt even worse . Tears started welling up in her eyes , and the Chairman didn't miss that .

'Yuuki- chan ! C'mon ! I didn't mean to make you cry ! ' he said uncomfortable , reaching out for her and squeezing her shoulder . ' But you have to understand , my dear , that what I said isn't a lie ..' he added , calmly .

'What is it that's not a lie ?'

Zero came in the kitchen , his gaze shifting from the Chairman's worried expression to Yuuki's teary one.

'Oh nothing , Zerorin ! Don't worry about it ! ' the Chairman said with a false cheeriness in his voice , while Yuuki started looking at her boots like they were the most interesting thing in the world to avoid his gaze.

Zero was a lot of things , but he wasn't stupid : he could put two and two . They had been talking about him , he knew it .

'Are you sure?' he asked , but instead of getting an answer from the two , the Chairman clapped his hands together and looked at his 'cute children' with a smile playing on his lips .

'Sooo… why don't we start eating ? I've cooked a f-a-b-u-l-o-u-s dinner my-style just for you !'

Zero rolled his eyes .

Yuuki , she just kept staring at the floor .

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The night was quiet in the city , lit up by the streetlights and the cars passing slowly .

Yuuki and Zero were heading back to his apartment after going to the Academy and having dinner with Kaien. Yuuki hadn't talked much during the whole evening , and Zero was surprised she had lost all her excitement and cheeriness she had in the afternoon , when they went shopping . He was sure that her attitude was caused by whatever the Chairman had told her while he had been away.

They were already on the stairs of his apartment when he couldn't take her silence anymore .

'Yuuki?'

'Mmh?' she took distractedly the keys from his hands without looking at him , opened the door , and stepped into the house .

'What did the Chairman tell you?' he asked .

'Nothing ,' she lied , her back turned .He couldn't see her face.

'Oh c'mon Yuuki ! I can tell that something is off , I know you ! Don't lie to me..' he took her wrist and turned her so that she was facing him .

'Leave me alone!' she yelled , and he was so surprised by her outburst that he took a step back .

She looked at the floor for what it seemed the thirtieth time that night . She didn't want to see his hurt eyes now , because she knew that soon she would hurt him again .

'I-I need to think .. Sorry ' she said , and left him alone in the corridor , walking into his room and closing the door right on his face.

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A few hours later , Zero was the sofa of his living room , staring at the ceiling .

He couldn't get some sleep . He was thinking about Yuuki and the way she treated him . He couldn't understand what he did wrong to cause such a reaction . What did the old man tell her ? Because it was obvious that she was acting like that for something Cross told her . But Zero just couldn't figure out what .. He had come just to one conclusion , but he wished it wasn't what he thought , because he could never handle that.

His train of thoughts was stopped by a _bip _of his phone , so he took it from the floor where he had put it and looked at the display . There was one text from Yuuki .

**Hey Z . U awake ?**

He almost laughed . Even if he had been asleep , the sound from the phone would have surely woken him up , so why ask such a question when she already knew the answer? He texted her back.

**Yeah. Can't sleep …**

_Because of you_, he would have wanted to add .

**Me 2 … **

She answered** , **and he again was amused by the irony of the situation . They were in the same house , but in different rooms , and she had to_ text_ him ? He was about to tell her that when another bip sounded.

**I'm sorry 4 earlier .. Forgive me?**

This time he really smiled . Was there any need to ask him that ? Hadn't he forgiven her a lot of things?

**Why don't you come here and tell me that ?**

He heard the crack of a door opening and then someone tiptoeing in the corridor . Then , another door opening , and he saw a short brunette looking at him from the doorstep . The scene reminded him of a lot of time ago , when Yuuki used to go to him in the middle of the night just because she thought he wasn't sleeping well .

He closed his eyes , and after just a few seconds he felt her gentle hands on his face , and then the soft whisper in his ear.

'Don't tell me that you fell asleep .. '

'I'm not sleeping , midget..I'm here to listen to what you have to say .. ' he said , every trace of a smile slowly leaving his beautiful face .

'Ok then . I wanted to apologize for the way I treated you .. I was angry with myself and I took it out on you ,' she admitted sheepishly . 'I'm sorry '

'…' He opened his eyes reluctantly to look at her . 'That's not what you really wanted to say , Yuuki '

She looked at him in confusion. What did he mean?

'You are leaving .'

Saying the words out loud , made his heart ache . She , on the other hand , was surprised he had figured out so soon what she meant to do . He had been always very perceptive , but she didn't think he could read her so easily .

'You're leaving , aren't you ?' he repeated , his eyes slowly widening as he realized he had guessed right . This time he had wanted so much to be wrong … But he wasn't .

'Yes' she whispered , hating herself to hurt him so much .

She expected him to argue with her for her decision , but he didn't speak a word . But she could hear with her sensitive hearing his heartbeat quicken in panic , and suddenly she was very aware of the blood running through his veins , blood she had desired but that she never tasted .

And she realized that even if she loved Kaname , she couldn't stop needing Zero .

She needed his presence , his scent , his hugs . More than anything . The way he used to catch her when she fell , the way he scolded her for something she did .

She thirsted for his blood . She could feel her eyes glowing red .

'Zero…I-' she started , but she was interrupted by his hoarse voice , asking her a question that caught her off guard .

'W-what did I do wrong ?' he asked , looking quite astonished at her changed eyes .

'You didn't do anything wrong ' she said , suddenly holding him and coming dangerously close to his neck .' The problem is _me_ !'

She really wanted to tell him that she wanted to stay with him. Because it was the truth .

But .. he was a Hunter and she was a Pureblood vampire . They weren't even supposed to be _friends _.

How could they even be together ? They didn't belong to the same world . And if she waited longer to leave , he would be more hurt after .

'Why would _you_ be a problem? '

'Because I'm a Pureblood vampire ! And you're a Hunter ', she sobbed . 'I'm a vampire!'

He chuckled , and she raised her head to look at him . He was laughing? Of all things?

'That used to be my line, you copycat ' he said . 'How could you being a vampire be a problem to me ? I'm one too , you should know better than anyone else !'

'It was hard at first to digest , but now I know that you are the same Yuuki as ever . And besides , you accepted me for being what I am , why shouldn't I do the same with you ?'.

She was speechless for a moment . 'I'm not the same.'

'You're not?'

'No , I'm not . I'm the same as the woman that made this to you ' she said , tracing with her fingertips the lines of the tattoo on his neck . He shivered . She retrieved her hand.

'See?' she said .' You're afraid .'

'You are not the same as her ' he whispered inaudibly , and she wouldn't have heard him if she hadn't had a sensitive hearing . 'And I'm not afraid' he added .

She shook her head , as to tell that she didn't believe him .

'Drink my blood ' .

Her head shot up to look at him , incredulously , in the eyes . There was no trace of indecision in them . Amethyst sparkled with a glint she couldn't define.

'What?' she asked , thinking that she didn't hear him correctly . It was too odd .

'I know you're thirsty .Drink my blood , and I'll show you I'm not afraid' he repeated , confirming that what she heard was right .

'You don't have to prove me anything!' she shot back . She didn't want him to force himself to do something he didn't want to do just to prove her that he wasn't afraid of her being a Pureblood.

'You don't want to ? ' He looked rejected and defeated , and she felt a pang in her heart at the look on his face .

'That's not it !' she whisper –yelled , her cheeks rosy with embarrassment. ' I really want to drink it , but –'

'Then do it .. '

She looked at his face again , and she didn't argue anymore. She really didn't know what to do , or say .

'Please , Yuuki' he pleaded . 'I want to show you why I don't care what you are ..'

'Please.. Do this…For me ' he continued . 'Before you leave …' He had to try , try to make her know how much he cared about her . It was his last chance .

She saw pain and sorrow in those eyes .

And in that moment , Yuuki made her choice . She buried her face in his neck , bathing in his sweet scent and , for the first time , she sank her fangs into his flesh .

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**Author's note :** Cliffhanger ! XDXD

I hope you liked this chapter , even though I still think it's crappy ..

I put a lot of effort to make it longer than usual , since I'm leaving tomorrow and I'll come back in fifteen days …

I will keep writing other chapters but I'll be able to upload them only when I return .

A huge 'thank you' for everyone who reviewed or simply read my story .. It means a lot to me !


	9. UnLoved

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Chapter nine

**(Un)Loved**

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His blood wasn't like anything she had expected.

It tasted different , unique , but at the same time it reminded her of her own blood .

But the thing that surprised her the most were his memories.

As soon as she sank her fangs into his pale flesh , memories came rushing into her like a blow and she got to see things of his past she had never known about , or that she had just imagined.

It wasn't like when she drank from Kaname. It felt… like a completely different world to her.

'_Ichiru , Zero .. Mom loves you really much..' A gentle woman with long silver hair and moonstone eyes looked down at her sons , patting their heads with a sweet smile playing on her lips . ' You are my precious ones ..' she added ._

'_What about me?' a tall man with lavender eyes called out to her , with a mock offended face ._Yuuki smiled in her head . He looked exactly like Zero ._' Am I not precious enough?' he joked .The beautiful woman turned to look at him. _She said something , but Yuuki couldn't hear her last words , because the scene changed and suddenly , she was looking at a series of disconnected images .

_A much younger Yagari and Kaito, talking ._

_A sunny day in the middle of the forest , during a hunter training._

_Ichiru taking his medicines ._

_A crowded school . People smiling , joking , having fun ._

_And then , a beautiful woman with long , white hair , crying . She turned to look at Zero in the eyes . Her eyes were the color of blood and full of hatred . _Yuuki instantly felt fear .

_Then the scene changed again , and they were in the middle of a snowstorm ._

'_ZERO!'_

_His parents were screaming , running towards him , and the moment they took their weapons , Shizuka sank her fangs into Zero's neck . _Yuuki saw the look of shock in the mother's eyes , who threw herself at the vampire with force and anger , and then everything became blurry : all Yuuki could see was red , red , red…Blood splattered everywhere .

'_I won't kill you .. I want you to suffer ..' Shizuka was whispering against Zero's ear , while he looked , lost , down at his father's lifeless purple eyes , who had lost the mocking light they always held . He suppressed a scream . 'Everything happened because of you ' she continued ._

' _Nobody will love you…Ever ..' she said , and his heart sank ._

'_You don't deserve to be loved' _

_Then everything went black , for what it seemed like forever . _

'… '

She didn't know when she started crying .

_Suddenly , she could see a faint light . An open door . _And then Yuuki was staring at her younger self . Images started spinning very , very fast . And the blackness started filling with thoughts of her .

' _Can I touch you?'_

' _Are you Ok?'_

'_It's gonna be fine ! Everything will be fine if you have a place where you feel safe..'_

'_You're my best friend..'_

'_C'mon ! Smile ! For me ?'_

'_Damn . Why are you so tall and I have to be the only midget around?'_

'_Jerk!'_

'_I don't care what you are becoming!'_

'_What the hell were you doing? Are you trying to kill yourself?'_

'_Fine , you're a vampire . But you're good Z , you're good !'_

' _You know , sometimes I feel like my parents abandoned me..'_

'_What are you thinking?'_

Memories of her smiling ,crying , running and jumping around, started to play over and over her mind . There were things she remembered and things she had completely forgotten about . She was conscious she was taking too much blood from him and that she had to stop , but somehow , she couldn't . She couldn't stop looking into him . And then his voice , carried to her by his blood , started flowing into her mind . Her heart stopped .

_I love her._

_I love her._

_I love her so much that it hurts ._

_It hurts ._

_Monster , monster, beast ! Stay away from her !_

_Please , Yuuki..Yuuki kill me.. Kill me.._

'_I'm in love with Kaname – sempai , Zero .'_

_Dead ._

…

_I don't deserve to be loved …_

_That's why she left ._

The last thing she saw before his memories turned black again was herself at the window , while she was leaving with Kaname .

Yuuki cried harder, silently. So it was true . He loved her . And she had been so blind ! Or was it that she knew , deep in her heart , but she had pretended not to notice? And he thought that she left him because he didn't deserve to be loved ? He had been so wrong..And he had suffered so much for her sake ..But her train of thoughts was stopped again when another voice resounded in her head.

'_He's dying ! Please , someone ! '_

Yuuki flinched . This voice was different , and she knew it all too well . It was Yori's . It was panicked and she could feel the tears in her voice , but she couldn't see her , it was too black .

Yuuki wanted to know why Yori's voice was there , and why she had said that words , but she felt the hand that Zero had in her hair slid down slowly . Realizing that she had taken too much blood from him , she retreated her fangs and stopped drinking to look at him .

He was breathing heavily , his eyes closed , his neck all bloody . He looked adorable , she thought , when he let his guard down and was so vulnerable . She felt instant guilt for taking too much from him .

'Zero?' she whispered.

He slowly opened his eyes . He looked a little tired .

'I'm sorry , I got carried away..' she stuttered .

'I'm fine' he said , and his voice was kinda weak . He moved slowly to a sitting position .

'Ugh , I'm all bloody ' he said , looking at his shirt . He was about to touch his neck with his hand but she stopped him , taking his hand in hers . He looked fragile , like she had never seen him before .

'Wait , let me..' she buried her face again in his neck , and licked slowly the twin wounds she had done to him .

'Does it hurt ?' she asked , worried , her face still close to his neck, breathing in his scent .

'No' he breathed . Relieved , she started tracing softly his neckline with her lips_ , _making him shiver . She gently pushed him so that he was lying down again , and kept kissing his neck . Her lips started moving towards his ear , eye , and then cheek . She was about to capture his lips with hers when he spoke , and she couldn't believe her ears .

'Please…stop ' he said with a tone of voice that completely went against his words . Even if he was saying that , it seemed like he was begging her to continue . She was hurt for a second .

'You want me to stop ?' she asked , looking into his gorgeous eyes . He looked defeated .

'No…' he admitted , breathing faster . 'But ..'

She didn't wait for him to finish his sentence , and pressed her lips to his . She was realizing how much she needed him , his touch , and now that they were kissing each other she understood that she couldn't leave him , because it wouldn't hurt just Zero, it would kill her too.

'Zero,' she began , but with an unexpected gesture , he moved her under him , and kissed her again , and again .. and again , preventing her from speaking . Her hands travelled into his shirt , touching his chest and back , and she took it off . Just then , a headlamp of a car passing down the street lighted the room up , and she got a glimpse of his face .

He was crying .

She was so taken aback that if she hadn't had the couch behind , supporting her , she would have fallen down . In all those years she had known him , she had never seen him cry , not even when he first came to her , when his parents had died . She had never seen him break down or spill a tear . Never .

Zero , completely ignoring that she had seen him , lowered himself again to kiss her , and this time she felt the wetness of his cheek against hers . She suppressed a sob . It was heartbreaking . She didn't know why she had caused such a reaction . Her hand touched his cheek to comfort him and his bigger one reached and squeezed hers right after .She looked at him intently .He looked more beautiful than ever . His lips were swollen , and his eyes were so full of emotion that they seemed to hold everything he had kept inside for a long time . Noticing that she was staring at him , he tried to hide his face , sliding it down , and he rested his ear against her heart .

'Zero,' she broke the silence , her voice crackly ,'Why –'

'I'm afraid ' he said ,responding to her unspoken question , and her heart constricted for the umpteenth time that night . ' He looked so lost and helpless she thought he was going to break.

' I won't survive this time. '

She was upset for what he said . 'What are you talking about?' she asked .

He took a long , shaky breath . 'You're leaving ,' he answered, like it was an obvious thing .

'I'm not leaving ' she said , confident , even if the memory of his teary face almost made her cry too .

His breathing stopped , and he raised his head to look at her , like he couldn't believe her if he didn't see her face . 'You told me you were ' he said , incredulously.

' I can't . ' she admitted . ' I really can't '.

He looked at her speechless , and she caught the moment to finally say out loud what she was thinking .

'Not now , that I've understood that I love you ' she said . ' And now that I know that you love me too'

He was stunned . He couldn't believe she was saying that to him … She loved him ?

'Why didn't you tell me ? All this time ?' she asked . Yeah , she should have understood by herself , but maybe , if he had told her that , he wouldn't have suffered so much .

'I tried to…Once' he admitted reluctantly . 'That was the first day when you told me you were in love with Kuran ' he finished .

Her heart sank as the memory came back . ' Remember?' he asked , studying her expression . Her face had turned pale .

Of course she remembered .

_They were sleeping together , as usual . The storm had scared Yuuki a lot , and she had ran to him in the middle of the night , sure that he would have hugged her and eased her fears . They were talking and joking , whispering quietly , without wanting the Chairman to find out they were sleeping in the same bed ._

'_Damn Z. You really know everything about me ..'she said . ' While I don't know much about you..'_

'_That's what you get when you deal with a man with the charm of mystery as me ' he joked , and she punched him in the arm._

'_Think about it ! You never tell me anything ! I don't know what's your favorite color , or food , your favorite music group… I don't even know if you have a secret crush , or if you love something or somebody ..' _

_A thunder resounded , and she struggled closer to him ._

'_If you really want to know then I'll tell you' he whispered ._

'_Please Zero ! Tell me!' she really wanted to know more about him._

'_Alright… My favorite color is blue , and you know ramen is my favorite food… ' he explained._

'_As for the things I love , there's just one ..' he stopped._

'_Really ? And what is it ?' she raised her head to look at him in the eyes . She looked adorable , and he took a deep breath . He was about to tell her something that would have changed everything between them . He would either ruin their friendship , or he would be surprised . He took her hand and kissed it ._

'_ I really love -'_

_BEEP !_

_He was interrupted by Yuuki's phone beeping . She took it fast and started reading the screen . Her eyes grew bigger and bigger ._

'_It's Kaname – sempai !'_

_His face dropped ._

'_He wanted to wish me goodnight .. Isn't he sweet ? I love him so much !' she said , and then giggled because she had blurted out one of her most precious secrets ._

_She then looked at Zero's face and she remembered he had been talking , before she interrupted him._

'_You were sayin'?'_

'_Nothing.'_

'_No , you said something like I really love..'_

' _Nothing ' he repeated and smiled , but he had lost the glint he had in his eyes before ._

_She giggled again, not even noticing his pain filled features . _

'I was such a bitch! ' Yuuki blurted , while tears started welling up in her eyes .

He smiled . 'It's Ok , Yuuki , don't worry about it anymore.. '

'I hurt you.'

' Yes . You stabbed my heart over and over again..But I don't mind..' he said , and then suddenly yawned .'My head is spinning' he observed .

'That's because of the blood loss ' she told him . 'Zero , we can talk tomorrow , I'm not going anywhere .Why don't we go and rest in bed for a while?' she said .She didn't want to force him to stay awake if he was that tired . And she wanted to ask him so much questions.. About what she saw in his blood .

'Let's stay here..' he said , closing his eyes .

'Ok..But I want to be on the top .'

He opened his eyes with a tired but mischievous glint . She blushed . ' You're way too heavy..'

She slid from under him and kissed his forehead . He held her waist like he didn't want to let go of her . Ever.

'It's better for you if I find you here tomorrow.' he said , half-asleep.

'I'm not going anywhere…'

And they fell asleep like that .

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**Author's note :** Hello everybody ! :D

I know it took a long while to write this , but I wanted to make it perfect ;)

Please review ;)


	10. UnForgivable

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Chapter ten

**(Un)Forgivable**

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She woke up as the first rays of sunlight touched her eyelids .

When she opened her eyes , she found herself in the arms of a still sleeping young man that was so beautiful that he looked like a peaceful angel . Maybe he _was_ an angel , after all , she thought , smiling to herself .

His hair was messy , his breath even , and his chest bare . She remembered, blushing, how she took his shirt off just a few hours before , the way he kissed her , and the way he hopelessly cried for her . She still couldn't believe that he loved her that much , and that he always had .

But the night before hadn't been so important just for the things she found out about him and about herself .

It had been important because it had represented a turning point into her life .

She made a decision .

She listened to her heart for the first time in ages , and it told her who was the man she loved the most .

And it happened to be the one who's holding her tight in his sleep now.

It made her genuinely happy , but at the same time it made her heart ache , because she knew that she had to tell Kaname . She had to tell him .

She really loved him , she really did . But she wasn't _in_ love with him . He was just like..a brother . Nothing else . She didn't need his kisses or hugs like she needed Zero's.

And that realization helped her much .

He mumbled something in his sleep and she knew he was going to wake up soon .

'Zerorin?' she whispered quietly , knowing he would be angry if she called him like that .

He slowly opened his eyes , and with a jolt of surprise Yuuki saw they weren't their usual amethyst color . They had a red hue in them .

'Zero..rin ?' he questioned, with slight amusement in his sleepy voice . She giggled .

'The fact that I love you doesn't authorize you to call me like that , you know ' he said with fake annoyance, and then pulled her towards him to give her a quick kiss , making her completely forgot about his eyes' color- shift. Yuuki blushed madly .

'It's your first time telling me .' she observed .

'Tell you what ? That you can't call me Zerorin?' he asked , moving to a sitting position .

'No , that you love me '.

He rolled his eyes . 'Like you don't know that already…'

'I do know , but it was nice to hear it from you anyway..' she admitted , embarrassed .

'I love you ' he repeated , making her smile, and then stood up , stretching his arms and neck . She looked at his perfect face , shoulders and chest .And that was then that Yuuki's smile completely dropped .

Right on his heart there was a huge scar that she was sure he had never had in the four years she had known him . He saw her looking at him with her eyes wide , and following her gaze , he saw what she was staring at .

'Zero ,' she heard herself say ,'..What is that?'

He looked like her question had caught him off-guard .

'So I was right . You don't know ?' he asked ,raising his eyebrows, but she completely ignored his question.

'Zero . How did you get that ?' she asked. ' On one of those stupid and dangerous damn hunter missions? 'she spat , losing her composure . She couldn't stand that for those stupid Hunters' sake her Z could get wounded like that .

'No , it's not like that..' he started to explain, but she interrupted him .

'Then tell me Zero..How did you get that ?' she repeated .' Please , tell me..'

He looked like he was about to give in , but then he shook his head . 'I can't. '

'Why?'

'I..don't want to talk about it now 'he said , but when he saw her sad and disappointed expression , he pulled her into an embrace. 'I'll tell you..Just..Not now , ok?'

She clung to him . 'Promise?'

He hesitated . Then nodded . 'Promise.'

They stood like that for a while , and tears threatened to well up in Yuuki's eyes out of frustration . She really wanted to know , she was worried about how he could have gotten that.

'Now , why don't you go and take a shower ? I'll take you back to the Academy ' he said , playing with the long strands of her hair . 'You didn't get to see Yori last time , did you ?' he asked . She looked up at him , her expression suddenly lightened up .

'Really?'

'Really. Now go and get ready..'

She freed herself from his embrace and headed towards the door . Then , as a second thought , she walked back to him and stood on her toes , to reach him and kiss him . He bent down , getting her intention , and she captured one last time his lips with hers .

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'Yuuki ! I've missed you so much!'

A pretty girl with short blond curls was standing in Yuuki's old room in Cross Academy , hugging her best friend she hadn't seen in a long time . The Chairman had told her that Yuuki was at the Academy, so as soon as she had known , she had ran to come and meet her .

Zero had left Yuuki in her room while he went to his lessons ( which he had missed completely in the last week due to Yuuki's return) ; Yori , on the other hand , since she had perfect grades, could miss as many lessons as she wanted , and she was more than glad to skip them to talk with Yuuki .

'I've missed you too ! How have you been ?' Yuuki asked politely.

'Oh , I've been doing fine .. Always the same ! What about you ? School has been so boring without you..' her friend said with a tone of melancholy in her voice .

Yuuki smiled gently at her . 'Everything it's been boring for me too , without you Yori-chan..'

'Pfft , I don't believe you !' the blonde said , chuckling . 'I'll bet you have a lot of news to tell me.. With you and Kaname living together…' she continued ,and then winked . But something was off in her expression .

'Not at all ! I don't have any big new or gossip !' she instantly replied . 'Kaname and I barely see each other , he's always on some meeting away from home ..'

'I spend a lot of time alone , actually . Apart from the times when I see Ruka-chan or Hanabusa..'

Yori's face shot up .' Hanabusa? You mean Aidoh- sempai?'

'Yeah ..' Yuuki said , surprised by Yori's sudden interest . ' He's my teacher , since I'm not going to school anymore ', she explained.

'Oh , I see .' Yori nodded . ' So that's why Kaname brought you here ? To spend some time with your friends?'

'No , that's not it at all.. It's a long story..' she sighed . '..That mostly implies .. Zero .'

At the mention of Zero's name , a lot of emotions passed in Yori's eyes . Sadness. Fear . Hurt . Anger .

Yuuki was surprised .

'You saw him?' Yori asked ,hesitant .

'Of course . He was the one who took me here today ! ' then , seeing Yori's astonished face , explained : ' We got over that.. _argument_ we had last year '.

'Really?'

'Yeah , really .' Yuuki smiled . 'Actually , Yori .. I do have a big new to tell you .'

'What is it?'

'We kind of …confessed to each other ,' she admitted , embarrassed . 'And I realized that I'm in love with him'.

'Oh my GOD ! Are you serious ?' Yori almost shouted .Then , without waiting for an answer , said : ' Finally ! I've always _shipped_ you two together ! '

'What?' Yuuki couldn't believe in her friend's sudden change of behavior .

'Yes ! I've always supported Zero in the let's - win -Yuuki's- heart- mission .. But I didn't tell you a thing because it was your choice to make . Thank God you opened your eyes .. Kinda late , but you did ! ' she giggled happily .

Yuuki kept staring at her , shocked , but smiling .

'I'm glad that you came back to him , Yuuki.. I really am 'Yori said , sincerely. ' He deserves happiness , after all he went through during this year..'

Yuuki felt a pang in her heart at her words .'I know..I shouldn't have left him like that..'

'Yeah , but that's not only that..' Yori said . ' You know what I'm talking about , right ?' she gave Yuuki a meaningful look , but she looked completely clueless . When she understood that Yuuki didn't know what she meant , she started looking at her boots , like she knew something but she felt uncomfortable by telling it .

'I thought you knew..Maybe I should have kept my mouth closed '.. she whispered .

'Yori?'

Yuuki looked at her with a questioning gaze . What was there that she wasn't telling her? About Zero? And most important : why did she knew something about him and Yuuki didn't?

Yori looked up at her again at the mention of her name .Yuuki saw that her eyes were wet with unshed tears.

'Yori , you're worrying me.. What is it?' Yuuki asked , her voice panicky .'You can tell me everything , you know that '.

Yori didn't speak for a moment , then took a long breath , like she was about to say something important .

'He's so going to kill me for telling you , but … A couple of months ago ..Zero had a problem with his heart. And I don't mean metaphorically …'

Yuuki's jaw dropped . The image of the deep scar on his chest flashed in her mind . 'What?' she asked , breathless .'How's that possible ?'

'Oh , it was awful , Yuuki ! 'Yori blurted . ' I had gone to him to report some things the Chairman wanted him to know , I've been doing that since you left .' she started explaining . 'We were talking normally , but suddenly his face went pale… and he started coughing up blood .' she closed her eyes like the memory still scared her . Yuuki's face went paler as she tried to imagine the scene .

' I completely freaked out ! .. I seriously thought he was going to die , Yuuki . It scared the crap right outta me... I've never dealt with someone who was being sick .'

Yori's panicked voice from Zero's memory echoed again in Yuuki's head and her stomach started aching .

_He's dying ! Please , someone !_

Yori kept talking .

'I wanted to take him to the hospital right away , but we couldn't because he's a vampire... The Chairman was completely out of his mind , didn't know what to do . He wasn't aware of the fact that people like him could get sick . But we discovered that it can happen , it's a vampire-thingy … When they start rejecting the blood , the heart can fail .. Yagari sensei came , he knew what to do somehow , he took a knife - '

Yuuki interrupted her : she couldn't take it anymore . ' Why didn't anybody tell me ?' she asked in a whisper . Then she started yelling .

'I DIDN'T KNOW A THING ! WHY DIDN'T ANY OF YOU BOTHER TO CALL ME ? WHY?'

'We did '.

Yuuki's hands dropped to her sides , shocked like she had received an electric discharge.

'The Chairman phoned Kaname .' Yori continued , completely ignoring her outburst .

'I have to admit . I was SO angry with you .. For a second I thought that you really weren't the old Yuuki anymore , not even bothering to come and see him '.

'I didn't know ' she said , incredulous . ' He didn't tell me a thing !'

'I can see that now . But why didn't he ?' Yori asked .

Yuuki didn't answer , she just kept staring at the floor . She felt betrayed .

She knew Kaname never liked the relationship between her and Zero in the first place , but to keep things that important from her was a really cheap shot . She couldn't believe it .

And to think that she had worried so much about him ! About how he could take the new that she didn't want to come back to the mansion …

She had worried about hurting him , and he had hurt her like this ?

'Excuse me a second , Yori-chan ' , she said suddenly , standing up with decision .

' I need to make a phone-call .'

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'Kaname .'

Her voice sounded so angry and upset that he immediately understood something was off .

'Yuuki , my dear ! Did something happen ?' he asked , worried .

'Yes . It happened that I found out some unpleasant things , onii-sama ' she spat . She didn't give him the time to ask her why . 'Like you, keeping_ vital_ stuff from me.'

He was speechless for a second . 'I don't know what are you talking about , my dear.'

Yuuki wanted to yell at him . He played so well the innocent part she almost believed him .

Almost .

'You don't ? Let me refresh your mind, then .' she said , trembling . 'My best friend had some kind of vampire illness , and he was about to die .' her voice cracked. 'They phoned you to tell me , but you didn't speak a word to me.'

'..'

His gentle tone completely disappeared . 'I should have known the bastard would have told you.. Always trying to make you pass to his side...'

Her anger boiled more . 'He didn't mention a single thing to me ! Yori did !'

'How could you ? ' she continued .' How could you not tell me, Kaname ?' she started sobbing .

'Yuuki , don't cry, please ..' he said , back to his kind tone . ' I have a perfect explanation for what I did .'

'..' She stayed silent for a second . 'I'm listening .'

'I didn't tell you because I knew you would have wanted to go and see him .. Yuuki , you have to understand that you're not the same as you were . The Chairman , Yori..and him, they're not part of your life anymore . I allowed you to stay with him this week because you were too sad and he was so stubborn . But you can't remain attached to him forever just because you pity him …or because you feel sorry for him..'

'I don't pity him !' she shouted . Then she drew a deep breath . ' I'm in love with him . There's a big difference between the two things.'

'You…_are in love_ with him ?' he asked incredulous, anger rising evidently in his voice .'You're not thinking clearly.'

'Kaname . I really meant what I just said.'

'I don't care if you meant it or not . Yuuki , you can't be with him . You're my _fiancée _! You are a pureblood , and you're going to be queen ! You can't lose your time with a lowlife like him ! '

'Don't you dare to talk about him like that !'

'I'm sick about this situation . When the meeting I'm going to now it's over , I'll come to get you and bring you back home ' he said , decisively .

'You wouldn't.' she said in a whisper .

'Oh yes , I will .'

'You don't know where to find us .'

'Why ? I know both the way to Cross Academy and Zero's apartment … Yuuki. '

'..'

'You'd better be here when I come .'

And with that last threat , the line went dead .

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As she stood there unmoving , in that corridor , in front of Zero's room door waiting for him , Yuuki thought about the – few – possibilities she had to escape what she knew was coming .

But she hadn't come up yet with something that could grant her wish : stay with Zero .

She placed her back against the wall , and then slid down slowly, till she was sitting on the cold floor .

If Kaname would really come and get her , it would be the end of her and Zero . She would never see him again . Ever .

She wanted to cry .

She wanted to cry because it was breaking her heart . To know about what happened to Zero , while she couldn't be with him . To know that her brother was being cruel to her . To know that she was going to be separated from her angel.

She heard soft footsteps and she raised her head .

And her eyes met his .

'Yuuki , what are you doing there?' he asked , as soon as he saw her standing on the floor . She looked miserable .

Yuuki kept looking at him ignoring his question . All she could think of was that in the last week she had feared already two times to have lost him , and she didn't want to go through another experience like that .

'Yuuki?'

She slowly stood up and took his hand . He squeezed it tight , a questioning look on his face , and then opened his room's door , without speaking , and led her in .His eyes never left hers .

She closed the door behind them , but instead of turning to face him , she rested her head on the smooth wood , without moving .

She heard him coming from behind and didn't do anything to stop him . He placed his hands on her abdomen , his lips just some centimeters from her ear , travelling her neckline .

'Seriously – What's wrong ?' he asked whispering , and his warm breath on her skin sent a shiver up her spine . She slowly turned , caged between his strong arms to the wall . His tall and lean figure towered over her and even if she was scared to death because of Kaname , between this man's arms she felt safe , at home .

'Zero,' she said , breaking the silence .' Yori told me.'

Confusion swept in his eyes for a second . ' Yori told you wha-' then he abruptly stopped , as if he suddenly understood . 'Ah,' was all that he could say . Tears started coming out from her eyes .

'Zero , I swear , I didn't know . I would have come and –'

He hushed her putting his finger on her lips . ' I knew that nobody told you ..I realized it this morning and I suspected it all along ' he said , then shook his head in disapproval .'That's why I would have preferred Yori didn't tell you at all . It's useless to make you worry like that..'

She rested her head on his chest . She felt him stiff a little at her touch and she looked up at him , surprised . He had an apologetic look on his face.

'Sorry,' he said , a little breathless . 'It's just that I'm..'

She suddenly understood by the look in his eyes and finished the line for him . 'Thirsty?'

He nodded slowly , looking away , as if he was ashamed of himself . 'I'm sorry..'

'Don't be,' she said ,closing the space between them . She didn't want to argue with him about this , she knew that he would never drink from her without hating himself for hurting her. But she needed him so much .. she wanted him to bite her . She really did .

So she bit her lip purposefully , drawing up blood , and watched as his eyes turned dark crimson .

He turned his head , looking at her with so much desire that her heart fluttered . He pinned her to the door behind her , his tongue soon finding her lips , drinking from her , kissing her . She moaned against his mouth again and again, surprised at how good he could make her feel just by doing that to her .

His head moved to her neck in a rush , finding her pulse and finally biting down. She felt her knees weaken , and she started sliding to the floor again ,pulling him down with her .

All too soon , his mouth left her neck , and she kissed him again , tasting her own blood on his tongue.

When they finally regained their breath they were lying on the floor , Yuuki's petite frame completely shadowed by his big body , his hands gripping the wooden pavement , just centimeters away from her face .

'That brat ,' he said breathing heavily, breaking the silence, and Yuuki instantly knew who he was talking about . ' I won't let him get to you , Yuuki..' he assured her . ' Don't worry..'

And his soothing words really calmed her .

'I'm so angry at him…' she admitted sadly , and he stayed quiet for a second.

'I'm sorry..' he spoke then , completely surprising her .' I know how much he…means to you ..' he continued awkwardly and embarrassed . And now it was her turn to stay quiet for a while . She hadn't expected him to say something like that . He had changed , hadn't he? He felt more mature .

He freed her from his tight grasp and moved to a sitting position, his back to her , as if he was thinking about something and didn't want her to look at him . She sat too , her back against the wall , looking at his bent shoulders . She knew what he was thinking , somehow . And it implied her and a certain Kaname Kuran .

She held him from the back , pulling him towards her with a fluid movement , and he relaxed , lying down his head on her chest . They stayed like that for a long while , Zero still lost in his thoughts , Yuuki playing with his shirt collar and tracing invisible patterns on his tattoo , her legs on either of his sides .

'Z..,' she said suddenly . 'Can I take your shirt off ?'

She couldn't see his face but she could tell that he was smiling .'Only if I get to take off yours , Princess ,' he joked . Then , as she didn't answer , embarrassed , he asked , 'Why 's that? '

After a second of hesitation , she finally answered . 'Because I want to see your scar' she said .

'And why would you ? ' he told her . 'You're such a weirdo' he chuckled .

'Shut up !' she pinched him . '…Please ?'

He shifted a little , and then gave up . ' Alright,' he agreed .

She started unbuttoning his white shirt uncomfortably . 'Do you want me to turn around?' he asked .

'No , stay like that ' she told him and then bared his chest . She immediately reached the cut with her fingers and started tracing it lightly . For a while nobody spoke .

'Does it hurt?' she asked .

He sighed . 'Not anymore '.

'I can't believe that I wasn't with you when this happened ' she said , shaking a little her head in disapproval .

'Stop thinking about it ..'

'I can't stop thinking about something that could have killed you.. It scares me so much..'

'It's over now : I'm fine ,' he reassured her , and covered her hand with his , tracing his scar along with her .

'You know , I think it looks like a curved road ' he said , out of the blue .

'Yeah , you're –' she stopped. The word 'curved road' brought a memory back to her , and she suddenly had the clue to resolve their problem . 'You're a genius ! ' she exclaimed .

Zero turned to look at her like she was crazy . 'What?'

'Zero,' she interrupted him , her eyes sparkly with excitement . ' I have an idea!'

'You still have your driver's license , right ?'

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**Author's note :** Longest chapter ever ! 8D

I'm sorry for all the Kaname fans reading my fic , really . He sounded like a frickin' bastard in here ,while he actually isn't , but I had to get rid of him . After all the latest VK chapters (always YuMe ), I needed an overdose of ZeKi action . Seriously . Kaname is a good character and all , but I need MY MAN BACK !

ZERORIN , get your sexy ass back ! And fight for Yuuki ! Damnit !

PS : Thank you to all my reviewers … You're the ones that keep me writing , and I love y'all .

*HUGS*


	11. UnSuspected

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Chapter eleven

**(Un) Suspected**

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_One week later._

It had been a very , very hard week for Mr. Cotford .

To be the Chief Inspector of the Police meant having a lot of pain-in-the-ass cases to resolve , he had always known that . He also knew that the one which had been assigned to him this time wasn't going to be any different .

Because he really didn't know where to start .

He stared at the two glossy photographs in front of him with a huge frown on his face . The first one showed a tall , good-looking young man with stunning amethyst eyes and silver hair . The second one , on the other hand , showed a pretty , cheery petite girl with chocolate brown eyes and auburn hair .

His gaze shifted slowly from the photos to the report of their disappearance in his hands . He had always dealt with disappearance cases , but this one was not like the others . There was something really weird and mysterious about it .

Although Miss Yuuki Cross Kuran – that was the name of the missing young woman - used to attend the prestigious Cross Academy , no one at the school , ( apart from a few of students such as Sayori Wakaba and Kaname Kuran – respectively her best friend and her brother ), seemed to remember about her . At all . Still , there were loads of papers to attest that she had set her feet in the Academy : exams ( which were completely disastrous ) , authorizations for school trips , and , finally , school projects . And this last particular pointed out the second weird thing about the case .

In most of Yuuki Kuran 's school projects she had been paired to work with Zero Kiryuu , the other missing guy (who , on the contrary , had brilliant grades) . The few exams she passed seemed to be copied from his . Every school trip she went on , her rooms and her seats were assigned next to him .

Moreover , both Zero and Yuuki were Kaien Cross' adoptive children – Yuuki , since she was five , when her parents Haruka and Juuri Kuran killed themselves ; Zero , since he was thirteen , when his parents died too in a mysterious accident .

They had a lot of common , and everything seemed to tell Mr. Cotford that they had been close friends .

So why did the guy that denounced their disappearance ( the girl's brother) maintain that they weren't ?

Kaname Kuran , in fact , had affirmed that the missing guy , Zero , was very dangerous , and that he had kidnapped his sister . The Inspector had laughed at this . He had years and years of experience , and as soon as he had analyzed the case he had come to the conclusion that this surely was a case of Elopement . It was obvious that the two kids ran off together because they were in love with each other .

But when he told Kaname not to worry because the couple would soon come back , he threatened to have him fired . If he was a good Inspector , he said , he would have already sent someone to search for his sister who might have already been killed .

Mr. Cotford was offended at his remark . He thought he was exaggerating , the Kiryuu guy didn't seem dangerous at all , but maybe he was wrong .

So he sent patrols all over the country . He had to find them .

If Kaname was right , Yuuki Cross Kuran was in great danger .

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'You look weird .'

She looked at him closely , running her hands through his chestnut brown hair . ' Very , very weird ,' she repeated.

He rolled his eyes . ' I think I've already heard you say that..' he said , and turned to look at himself in the mirror . 'Do I look that bad?'

' No ! Actually , I think you're damn hot ,' she admitted with a mischievous smile gracing her lips . He chuckled . 'It brings out your eyes incredibly . But .. I loved your hair ! It was unique …' she said , pouting . He put his hand on her shoulder and looked at her .

'It'll be back to its color , with time,' he reassured her . 'I had no choice . Silver hair isn't what you can call common . They would have found me in an instant .'

'You're right..' she sighed . Her gaze shifted from his changed hair to the closed curtains . ' We look like criminals . Or runaways ,' she admitted .

' In case you haven't noticed , we ARE runaways , Yuuki ,' he reminded her with a smirk .

She looked back at him . She couldn't believe that he had agreed to her crazy plan to run away .

He agreed to go wherever she told him to go . He did everything to make her feel safe . He even _dyed _his hair for her. And he was the only one paying the consequences of her foolish choice, because everybody thought he was a psycho who had kidnapped an innocent young girl . She had put him in a great risk . He was wanted !

'Zero , I love you ,' she said suddenly , hugging him and burying her face in his chest . Nobody would have done all that just for her . He raised her chin up with his hand to look in her chocolate eyes .

'I love you too,' he told her sincerely . She stood on her toes , mesmerized by his eyes , and tried to kiss him . Before she could do so , he chuckled softly on her lips .

'Are you sure you want to kiss me? ' he asked her ironically . She looked at him questioningly .

'I'm very , very dangerous .. I'm a…' he took the newspaper from the near table and quoted : ' .. a sick rapist , a deadly killer , and .. a psycho . Wanna add something ? '

Yuuki laughed at his priceless expression . 'Like a .. kiss stealer ? ' she suggested . He smiled , but she could tell that even if he was joking about it , he was hurt by what people thought about him now .

She gave him a sympathetic look . 'I'm so sorry about that..I can't believe Kaname involved the human police in this ..' she shook her head in disapproval . ' Didn't he think about the consequences ? They could find about .. _us_ !'. She didn't need to tell him what she meant for _us_ . He understood perfectly .Vampires and Hunters.

He didn't speak , lost in his thoughts . His gaze shifted again to the newspaper . The first page read :

**Zero Kiryuu – Angel or .. ruthless beast ? **

_Don't let yourself be deceived by his angelic look . Zero Kiryuu, age eighteen ,member of the disciplinary committee in the luxurious Cross Academy , isn't what he seems to be . His perfect looks hide a tragic character , a tormented person who finds pleasure in hurting the people around him ._

_People say that sometimes your past is what makes who you are . And in this specifically case , this say is true ._

_Since his parents were mysteriously killed , the young Zero grew up as a disturbed man : he first started with self-harm , with a failed suicide attempt , and then he directed his violence to other people ._

'_He's always been molesting my sister ,' says a devastated Kaname Kuran , Yuuki's brother , the girl who was kidnapped , a week ago , by the young , silver - haired man ._

' _He took advantage of her caring nature , and tried to force himself on her ' he explains with a pain-filled expression . ' That's why she left the Academy , last year . She was so scared of him, she didn't want to go out anymore . She completely isolated herself from the world - '_

'You shouldn't read that crap , Z .. They're all lies ..' Yuuki said , taking the newspaper from his hands and throwing it in the dustbin . She prevented him from reading further as soon as she saw that his hands were shaking . When he didn't say a thing , she started stroking his cheek with her hand .

'Hey ,' she said . He was looking everywhere but never at her . ' Z , don't be mad ..'

'I would never ..' he said, staring at the ceiling, when he found his voice again . 'I would never , never do those things to you , Yuuki , I –'

'I know !' she interrupted him in a rush . ' There's no need for you to tell me .. I know .' she reassured him .

He looked back at her , grateful . 'Thank you , Yuuki .You always believe me …'

'No need to thank me , handsome ,' she said , smiling up to him . 'Of course I would believe you …'

This time he bent and planted a sweet kiss on her lips . Then he freed her from his hug .

'C'mon , midget . Let's cook something .. I'm starving _and_ I bet you are ,too..' he told her , then moved to the little kitchen and started taking all the stuff he needed from the fridge .

She looked at his tense shoulders and understood that he was still upset about the article .

'Look at the bright side , Z .' she said , trying to cheer him up . ' At least someone stood for you ..' , and it worked . Zero smiled and then chuckled . He remembered very well how the day before the TV transmitted an interview with Sayori , and surprisingly enough , Kaito . They stood for him against the journalists , who kept asking questions about him .

'_You shouldn't believe what Mr. I–Love-My- Wavy- Hair says .'_ Kaito had said , pointing at Kaname . (Yuuki , who had been looking at the TV , interested , had busted out laughing like crazy , while Zero had chocked on his noodles , his eyes soon watering ).

Kaito had continued_ . 'Zero isn't that kind of person . He may look like a dangerous mug_ … -' . ( ' I look like a .. dangerous mug ? ' Zero had asked , incredulous , only to make Yuuki laugh more ).

'… _but I would never believe he'd kill or even hurt the Kuran Missie in any way . He's that girl's pet , always wagging his tail around her .'_ ( Zero's eye had started twitching at this ) .

'… _Jeez, I bet she's the one who's keeping him as a hostage . She could be the one raping him ! Didn't anyone think that maybe he's the one who needs to be rescued ?Eh ? - '_

And then , luckily , the camera cut him off , focusing on Sayori . Zero had felt really touched by her words . He hadn't expected the Wakaba girl to think those things about him . He was starting to consider her as a friend .

' _Zero isn't a bad guy . I know him ! He would never , never harm Yuuki . She's the love of his life , and he's hers . So stop spreading those false rumors , please .'_

Yuuki started laughing her ass off again at the memory . ' I can't believe he actually called onii-sama like that ! Ahahah ..' she said , her eyes sparkly .

Zero chuckled too . 'Yeah..That was..' he wondered as he couldn't find the right word .

'Priceless !' finished Yuuki , and he smiled at her .

' I wish I could have seen his snobby face when he heard him , and – ' Zero started to say , then stopped . ' Sorry ..' he said , and turned again to the cooker .

'What are you apologizin' for ? He does have a snobby face .. I know that . And he's a liar , a – '

He turned to look at her again . 'But you love him '.

Her smile dropped at his statement , and she became serious .

'Yeah , I do love him , even if he's acting like an asshole .' she admitted , and she clearly saw jealousy in his eyes .

'I love him ,' she repeated , 'But not as much as I love _you_ ,' she told him sincerely . 'He's just my _brother_ ! Nothing else..' she explained , but he didn't look convinced at all .

'Zero.. Seriously .' she told , sighing . ' I'm in love with you , just you .' He saw the truth in her eyes , and relaxed a little .

'You really mean it..' he said in a whisper , astonished .

'Of course I really mean it .. You shouldn't look so surprised ,' she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world .

'C'mon , come here ..' she outstretched her arms and he immediately took a step towards her inviting embrace . They held each other , completely forgetting the food he had been cooking .

'I -..' he started , as the thought of one of the memories he had seen in her blood came back , burning his vision with such intensity that it constricted his heart over and over again . He closed his eyes , hoping it would go away , but it was only worse . He could still see _that_ clearly , even under his closed eyelids . He buried his face in her hair .

'Never mind ..'

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Chairman Cross was happy .

He was happy because , for the first time in his life , he had been wrong .

Damn wrong .

And this filled his heart with joy .

For years , he had looked , powerless , as the story of his life repeated itself . He had been staring at his adopted son like it was a mirror image of him, Kaien Cross . He had seen Zero slowly falling in love with his dear Yuuki just like had fallen in love with her mother , Juuri . And it broke his heart .

It broke his heart because he knew that the boy's love was condemned to be one –sided . Even if Yuuki kept being caring an lovingly to him , she would never chose to be with him . She was destined to be with her prince , Kaname . He knew it because he had experienced it himself . The Queen had to stay forever by the King's side . The Knight could only look at her from the shadows , protecting her , but never winning her heart .

Surely the Knight wasn't supposed to ran off with the Queen .

It was impossible .

But .. the impossible was made possible just a week ago , when his two precious ones had come to ask him for help . They told him they wanted to be together , and they had to run away because if they didn't , they'd sure be separated again .

And as he looked at their eyes , so full of love and expectations , he decided that he could do something good in his life . Something very , very good .

So he helped them . He agreed to Yuuki's plan . She said she had remembered about a place he took her when she was little . She remembered it because to reach it they had turned lots of bends , and she had felt sick . He remembered about it too , and thought that she had had a brilliant idea . Nobody knew about that place , apart from his dead best friend Juuri . It used to be their secret shelter … Funny , at how it was now going to be Yuuki and Zero's hideaway .

He gave them his car , and promised he'd never speak a word to anybody . He'd just reassure Yori by telling that the two of them were completely fine and that they were in a safe place .

When they left , he hadn't expected things to turn out so crazy .

Kaname had stepped into Cross Academy expecting Yuuki to be here , since she wasn't in Zero's apartment . When he found out they weren't there , he was extremely pissed . He asked the Chairman where he was hiding them , but he told him he didn't know what he was talking about . He swore he had seen Yuuki and Zero leave normally . ' I thought they were going home ,' he said , lying .

So Kaname went to talk to the Human Police , exposing everybody to a great danger . He didn't think about the consequences , all he could think of was that with Hunters , Vampires and even Humans tracking them down , Zero and Yuuki couldn't go very far .

The Chairman was very angry at him .

'Have you forgotten we erased the students' memories last year , when the two of you left ?' he had said to him . But Kaname didn't listen to him , and started involving the press and all , saying shit about Zero .

But there was one thing the Chairman was sure about .

He would never let Kaname find them , no matter what .

He would never let him destroy what he had hoped for all his life .

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The nightmare started with his face.

At first , it didn't seem a nightmare at all .

_It was a sunny , beautiful day , and she was looking at a handsome guy that stood , bare chested, some feet away from her . There was no sign of a scar . He hadn't noticed her , but then her turned to smile at her as if he knew she would be standing there . She smiled back at him for what it seemed like forever , until she saw the scene slowly changing . _

_The sun disappeared , and black clouds started to crowd the sky . All the light from his eyes faded , his face paled , and his smile left its place to a grimace of pain . He fell to the ground , clutching at his chest and groaning in despair . She started running towards him , but the more she tried to reach him , the more he seemed far away . He looked at her as if she was his only lifeline , and begged her to come and help him . She fought against the blowing wind , the rain, and thunders echoing in her ears . She desperately wanted to help him , but she couldn't ._

_She tripped and fell , slamming her knees onto the cold ground , and suddenly , she was standing next to him . He was coughing helplessly , blood painting his pale lips , struggling and trying to call out for her . _

'Yuuki!'

_She screamed his name over and over again as soon as she saw he was losing conscience . She stared ,panicking , at his silver hair covered with mud and blood , and tried to support his head with her hands . He coughed again , and she started sobbing and screaming until she lost her voice . She had to help him , help him …! She saw his eyes roll in the back of his head , and she squeezed hers closed shut , as if she didn't want to look at the scene anymore ._

_She was falling , falling …_

'Yuuki!'

Her eyes shot open again at the sound , and she found herself staring up at concerned amethyst eyes and unnatural chestnut brown hair . He was holding her wrists in his strong hands , a look of pure surprise on his face . She was back in their bedroom , but she was still upset by that awful nightmare , and she couldn't believe she was really out of it .

'It was just a bad dream , Yuuki ' he told her , his eyes wide , trying to reassure her .' Just a bad dream ' he repeated , a little breathless . His grip on her wrists slowly loosened and she started realizing it was all over . It didn't happen at all !

'Oh my god,' she said , putting her hands in front of her face . There were tears on her cheeks.

He put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her , but it wasn't warm as she had expected it to be . It was icy and wet . She gasped and lowered her hands and looked at him , surprised , to find that he was completely drenched . From his head to his toes . Like in her nightmare.

'Why are you –' she began , but he stopped her .

'I was just thinking outside , and I didn't notice it had started raining.' he explained , and looked away , as if he was ashamed of something . She was about to scold him for that , but he stopped her again .

'But then ! You began screaming like a crazed banshee and I –'

'I'm sorry , Z ..' she apologized , embarrassed . Had she screamed out loud ? She must have scared him .

She looked around her and saw it was raining cats and dogs outside their window . ' What time is it?' she asked him , out of the blue . How long had she been sleeping ? It wasn't raining when she fell asleep .

'Two in the morning ' he said , still looking at her with a weird look on his face . He sneezed twice .

'Z , you should go and take a warm shower ,' she said , worrying that he could catch a cold or something . Who knew if he could get sick again ?

'Not until you tell me why you've been acting crazy,' he told her . ' Was the dream that horrible ?'

'It was.. But I don't want to talk about it now , ok?' she pleaded him . 'Go,'

'Alright ..If you say so …' he said , not really convinced ,and stood up heading towards the bathroom . He closed the door behind him .

She stood on the bed for a few minutes staring out into space .

She couldn't believe that she had let him go like that . She needed him now more than ever because that nightmare had been …awful . As the memory of it hit her again , she stood up and ran into the bathroom without any second thought.

'Zero , I –' she began , but she stopped dead in her tracks .

He wasn't in the shower , like she had expected him .

He was still completely dressed , his forehead pressed to the bathroom tiles , his back to her . At the mention of his name , he turned to look at her .

'What are you doin' here?' he asked her . Then , as if another thought had stuck him , he said :' No one taught you to knock ?'

'I didn't think about it ! I just..wanted …' What did she want ? She looked at the floor . ' I , Zero –'

'You scared me .'

She looked back at him at the sudden change of the tone of his voice . She couldn't see his face clearly , because he covered it with his hand , but his voice sounded more upset than ever .

'I 've been .. worrying over stupid things all the time,' he told her , in a whisper . ' and then .. I heard you scream like that ,' his eyes widened at the memory . She just stayed quiet , listening to him .

'I thought..I thought something bad had happened to you, and I wasn't there , because ..' he took a deep , shaky breath , and then slammed his fist to the wall . 'Because..!' he repeated , but didn't finish the sentence . She looked astonished at his sudden outburst .

Taking a few steps , she closed the space between them and held him .

'I'm sorry I scared you like that …' she said , her face buried in his chest .

He sighed . Her touch had calmed him down instantly . ' It' not your fault , it's mine . I should have been here .'

She pulled away .'What were you doing outside at this hour ?' she asked . ' Since we left , you've been acting…a little..different ', she said , raising her hand to touch his cheek .

He looked down at her . 'Yeah , you're right . I've been acting different , and that's because ..' he said, and was about to say something else , when he sneezed again and Yuuki interrupted whatever he was going to say next.

'We can talk later , ok ? . You should take that shower ,' she said, worrying about him . She turned to leave .

But then he did something completely unexpected . In a slow , fluid movement , he took her wrist in his hand and pulled her with him in the shower behind them .

She didn't even have the time to blink , that he had closed the shower door and opened the warm jet of water . It splashed against them , totally soaking Yuuki's hair and dress . She gasped in surprise .

'I'm having my shower now ,' he breathed against her neck . ' _And _, we can talk .'

She felt the heat burn in her stomach at the sudden closeness ,a feeling she had never experienced , but she tried to ignore the fact that a) she was in the shower with Zero , and b) his lips were just centimeters away from hers . She tried to find her voice to speak .

'Then talk , I'm listening ' she said . ' What's the problem ?' she asked , trying to sound calm and confident.

He pressed his forehead to hers and then closed his eyes .

'I've been acting _different_ , as you said , because in your blood ,' he started ,' I've seen you and …and_ him_ , doing ..' he stopped , to regain his breath , as if what he was trying to say cost him a lot of effort . Her hands moved up to his face instinctively, but he was faster and pinned them to the wall , entwining his fingers with hers .

'He was..' he started again ,squeezing her hands harder , almost hurting her . She didn't have a clue of what he was trying to say . What were Kaname and her doing ?

'..His hands were all over you.. You were.. _kissing _,and - ' he stopped . 'It is driving .. me mad..' he finished .

And she immediately knew what he was getting at . She remembered very well when that had happened . So that's why he had been acting so strange all the week ?

She smiled .

'Did you see it all ?' she asked ,and he looked at her with hurt in his eyes . He couldn't believe she was _smiling_ at this .

'No,' he whispered , lost in her eyes , and his grip on her hands loosened .

'Well .. That's a pity ..' she told him , and his head slid down to hide in the crook of her neck : he was disheartened now.

' I wish you could have seen his face when I …' she said , and paused .

' …pushed him away .'

His head shot up to look at her .

'What ?' he asked , surprised . 'Y-you two didn't … ?'

'Of course not ! ' she said , and pinched him in the arm . 'You seriously thought I'd do _it_ with him ?'

He shrugged his shoulders , then nodded , but he looked relieved .

She pinched him again , harder .

'Ow ! That hurt!'

' Stupid ! I would have never done it with him , because you kept coming back to my mind !' she almost yelled .

He looked at her and their gazes held . He took her in his arms , the warm water completely soaking them now . ' Really?' he asked in her hair .

'Stop babbling and kiss me,' she commanded .

And he did what she wanted .

He bent , and captured her lips with his , in a passionate kiss that completely took her breath away.

She kissed him again, and he pushed her with her back against the slippery surface of the bathroom tiles .They were so drenched that for a second it reminded her of her terrible nightmare and her heart jumped at the memory . She tried to get that off her mind by concentrating in his rough kiss and started unbuttoning his shirt . She threw it to the floor , while his hands travelled from her mid-back to her thighs .

He lifted her in his strong arms like she was a doll , his lips never leaving hers , whispering her name every time he regained his breath . She leaned against his shoulders for support , encircling her legs around his hips .

'My Yuuki..' he whispered against her ear with affection in his tone . She shivered .

'So sweet ..' he said , kissing her neck .

'And so beautiful…'

Her heart lost some beats and then started pounding painfully in her chest at his words . She was looking mesmerized in his beautiful eyes when something happened and they both jumped.

The phone rang .

And there was only one person that knew their number.

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**Author's note :** Hi guys !

Here I am with another chapter .. ^^ .. I hope you liked it ..

I'm starting school in a few days and from now on my updates won't be fast as usual , but I promise you I won't let the story down .

I love you all !

Please review ^^


	12. UnScathed

**Author's note :** I need to apologize to all of you .

I've been gone for YEARS , and didn't update as I promised …

To excuse myself , I REALLY thought that I was going to update soon . But my life became suddenly so complicated that I just couldn't find the time to write something down .

Suddenly , I had to deal with things I had never experienced , like death , and loss , and so much more . It's too much to explain .

I'm really sorry if I disappointed you guys …

But I always keep my promises , so , I'm here to let the story end , even if I think everyone lost interest in it .

I hope you'll forgive me and understand … :)

Enjoy the read !

P.S : I changed a bit every chapter , because there were some parts I think that didn't fit very well with the story . Oh , and I changed the rating too . I know the characters are a bit too OOC , but that's what fan fictions are for too , right ?

P.P.S ( XD ) : What did you think of the latest chapter of VK ?

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(Un)Scathed

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Zero moved so fast to go to pick up the phone that Yuuki just saw a blur . She followed him in a rush .

They had given the Chairman a number to reach them just in case of emergency.

Something must have occurred .

Yuuki's heart was still jumping and she didn't know if it was for what had just happened between her and Zero , or because she was damn worried . Or both .

'Chairman?'

Zero answered breathlessly .

Yuuki heard an agitated and confused voice at the other end of the line .

'What ?'

Zero listened carefully . He seemed worried .

'…And you trust him to tell the truth ?'

Water was dripping on the floor from their clothes . Yuuki suddenly felt very cold .

'I see .. Yeah , I get it . Yes , I'll be careful … Thank you .'

He hung up and crossed the room in three long strides .

'Change into something dry , and pack only the stuff you really need , we're leaving .' He said , while he started pulling random things out from the closet .

'What ? Just like that ? But , -!' she argued .

'No buts ! Now . The Chairman thinks we've been discovered . I'll explain everything when we are in the car .'

He removed his shirt in a swift movement and took a clean one from the dresser in a rush . He seemed a bit agitated , and Yuuki started to hyperventilate . Zero was never agitated .

' Should I be panicking ?' she asked in a shrill voice . She felt like she couldn't move .

He went back to her , took her face in his hands and looked her in the eyes .

'Do you trust me ?'

'Yes !'

'Don't worry , then . ' he rolled his eyes .

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Hanabusa Aidoh had always been extremely happy for meeting Kaname Kuran . Every time someone told him that the pureblood trusted him , his heart swelled up with pride . He had once told that even if his adored Kaname–sama would betray him , he woudn't mind .

He really meant that when he said it .

But things had started to change .

During the year he had spent in the Kuran Mansion , he had also started to care for another Kuran .

Yuuki Kuran didn't look like her brother at all . She didn't have elegance , or finesse ,and she wasn't interested in culture at all . She lacked of tact and did the stupidest things . But she was also the most adorable person he had ever met . You just couldn't hate her – it was impossible .

Yuuki had treated him in ways Kaname had never had , in the ten years he had known him . She treated him like he was family .

When Kaname had told him that the Princess had been kidnapped , Hanabusa hadn't believed it for a second . He could have believed it only if the kidnapper hadn't been the other Guardian .

Zero Kiryuu was rude , and extremely grumpy , but he could never do anything against

Yuuki's will . Hanabusa knew for sure that the Hunter guy loved her more than anyone . Even more than Kaname himself .

And he knew Yuuki loved him just as much .

How many times had he caught her writing letters to him in her room , during the last year ? Or crying silently hidden somewhere …?

In the past , he would have never put someone else's happiness over Kaname's .

But that night , he made a choice .

A choice that broke his heart , but that deep down he knew that it was for the best .

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' … and so the Chairman told me Aidoh warned him that Kuran was coming to get us . He found out about our hiding place , somehow …'

Zero and Yuuki were in the car , driving away from their shelter . Zero was explaining her better why they had to get away .

'Aidoh – sempai told him that ?' Yuuki looked incredulous and scared . Aidoh could have easily been lying for Kaname …

' Yeah, I couldn't believe that either . But the old man told me we could trust him , and I ..' he stopped .

' You trust the Chairman's judgement .' Yuuki finished for him , and smiled .

Zero looked at her for a second and smiled too .

'Yeah , I guess I do ..'

They stayed silent for a while . It was still raining outside , but in the car it was nice and warm and Yuuki felt a little sleepy . She yawned .

'Why don't you rest for a bit ? You must be tired ..'

Zero said , worrying about her . She turned to her side and stared at him .

'You too .. I'm sorry I can't help you with driving ..'

He chuckled . 'It's ok , I can handle it ..'

' And besides, even if you could drive , I would never let you use my car. Think of all the people crossing the streets you'd kill ..' he smirked .

She stuck her tongue out at him .

'Oh , all those poor old ladies with a walking stick - OUCH ! '

She pinched him in the arm . ' You deserved that !' she laughed . ' You really think I'm not capable of doing anything , don't you ? '

' No , Yuuki , I think you're perfect . ' he paused. She raised an eyebrow .

' You make my heart beat ! Would you be my _lover_ ?' he said theatrically , in a perfect imitation of Kaname.

They both burst out laughing .

10 minutes later , they started to see a little city from distance .

'We're getting closer to a town' he said. ' Hide your hair in your hat , so that it looks short .'

'Why's that ?' she asked , but she did as she was told .

'To disguise yourself , silly . Just in case the human police makes us pull over …' he said nonchalantly .

Yuuki almost freaked out . 'Oh my god ! I never thought about that ! What if they ask for your ID ? Would you still give them -? '

'Please , I Photoshopped myself a new one_ months_ ago' he said with confidence . He playfully winked . 'Yours is in my backpack …'

'Seriously ?' she said incredulously , searching in the bag . ' Why did you have fake ID's ?' she asked , and then added , shocked : 'Were you planning to run away ?'

He rolled his eyes .' No ,' he answered . He stayed quiet for a bit , and then started explaining reluctantly . Yuuki just waited for him to continue .

' Remember how you and Yori always used to talk about the fact that you wanted a crazy night out ? We didn't have the age to go to a club then , but I wanted to take the both of you ,on your birthday … just to have fun , you know . Make you happy . But then …' he let the subject drop .

'… I left . Yeah…' Yuuki finished for him . She smiled bitterly .

All Zero had done , was for her . He had only wanted to make her happy , to make her smile . And she had always ended up hurting him .

' I really don't deserve you ..' she said , breaking the silence .

He looked at her . ' It's not true.'

'See ? You're too good …' she said , shaking her head.

' Am not .'

She smiled .

' You know Z , I've been thinking a lot during last week …'

'About what?'

'Back at the Mansion , when Aidoh sempai used to teach me , I ran up against something in one of those books about the history of Pureblood Vampires . I didn't think , at the time , that I would have found that useful in the future , but now I'm starting to believe it could help us against Kaname … But it's a cruel thing I guess , so.. I don't know if I could ever be able to do it …'

'What's that ?'

'Well , it's kind of complicated , and –'

'Yuuki.' Zero interrupted her , suddenly .

Yuuki glanced , scared , at him . His voice had changed , and she felt alarmed .

He was staring ahead of him . Outside the car , there were at least 20 vampires , blocking the street . They had appeared out of nowhere .

'Fuck !'

He put the car into reverse , trying to get away . There was no use in trying to fight them , because they were outnumbered , and even if Zero was the best Hunter around , and Yuuki a Pureblood , they couldn't do much . Yuuki's heart was racing madly .

He turned the car in a fast movement , but something slammed against it at full force , and the front window broke , all glass jumping around .

Yuuki screamed .

The last thing she saw was Kaname , standing in front of their car .

'Hi darlings' he said , smiling .

Then , the world went black .

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She woke up with the sound of rattling chains and people talking . She tried to focus . She was in a dark room , with a greenish light . Kaname was standing some feet away from her . Beside him , there was Zero , chained to a wall , his face bloody .

' Zero !' she screamed . Both men turned to look at her . 'Yuuki !'

'Oh , there she is . Our sleeping beauty has awoken !' Kaname said .

She got up and tried to reach Zero .

' Don't move , or this sword goes through his heart ' Kaname stopped her . He was holding a weapon Yuuki hadn't seen . He was aiming at Zero's chest .

She froze .

' I would have killed him sooner , while you were asleep , but I was having quite an interesting chat with him .' Kaname smiled .

' I see why you find him fascinating , he's smart , isn't he ? My puppet ..'

'Screw you , Kuran … I am not your puppet ' Zero spat .

'Are you so sure about that ?'

'What do you mean ?'

'Since you'll soon be dying , I'll tell you a story . At least you'll know all the truth . This story starts with me changing a certain hunter list . He wasn't supposed to die yet ,wasn't he ? Level E was still far for him .' Kaname stopped .

'I don't understand .' Zero looked clueless at him.

'What list ? Who are you talking about ? ' Yuuki inquired .

'The executions list ,Yuuki . So that _your_ parents ' he turned to look at Zero , 'would kill Shizuka's beloved ex-human. '

All the color drained from Zero's face . Yuuki gasped , horrified . Neither of them could make a sound .

He continued . 'Actually , I didn't change it personally . Rido did it , when I told him his fiancée fancied a mere level D. ThenI freed the Princess and sent her to you , giving her your family's name . _I_ suggested her to keep you alive and turn you , so that you would share the same destiny as her loved one. That was the best revenge she could get against the Kiryuu's , wasn't it ?'

'_This is not possible ..'_ Yuuki whispered . She took Zero's icy hand to give him strength . He looked as pale as a ghost . Kaname simply ignored them and kept speaking .

'Then I warned Cross that the Hiou princess had "escaped" . He could do two plus two , he knew she wanted to kill you all , and he went straight to your house.. but he was too late . How unfortunate ! But he saved you , and brought you home with him . Where _you_ were waiting .' He pointed at Yuuki .

'But why ?' Zero spoke . Yuuki would have expected his voice to be full of anger , but instead he looked lost , broken , almost defeated . 'Why me , us ?'

'Because I knew about the curse of the hunter twins . You were supposed to become the best of the best of the Hunter Association . You were born with the strength of two hunters , and you even became a vampire. You were that chess piece that was missing and that I needed to protect the Queen .'

Kaname looked intently at Zero.

'A Knight . The Vampire Knight .'

He paused . 'You were born for this . To protect her , and to get rid of a man I couldn't kill …'

Zero's eyes widened in realization . 'Rido..'

Kaname nodded . Zero just smiled a mirthless smile .

' I've got to admit , you deserve a fuckin' Emmy for deceiving everyone .. But I'll tell you something : _she_ could've fallen for it but I never bought it … I've always known you were … _scum ,_you son of a -'

He was about to let rage take over when Yuuki interrupted him and started yelling at Kaname .

'Tell me you're lying ! Tell me you're not capable of such evil …'

Both boys were taken aback by her outburst .

'Tell me you did not destroy a man's life because of a stupid game . Because of me …' her voice broke .

'This is all my fault …! ' she sobbed , feeling lost .

'Yuuki , love ' Kaname looked sadly at her . ' I never meant to hurt you . I just wanted you to be safe .'

' What can I do to make it up to you ?'

Zero had expected Yuuki to snap at him , but instead , she seemed to consider Kaname's words .

'If you ever loved me , please , just let him go . Don't kill anyone else …' she said pleading , moving closer to her brother . She raised a hand and touched his cheek .

' I love you . I don't want you to be like this … Why are you being like this ? I know you're better than that .'

Zero's heart broke . He felt betrayed , he felt like an intruder . Every word she said next were like a knife stabbing his chest again and again .

'You know all I did was for you … '

'Yes .. I know . I-I forgive you , but please let him go . Be a better man . '

'If that's your wish , sweetheart ..' Kaname seemed moved by her words .

She then closed the space between them and held him . Zero refused to look at the scene .

The woman he loved had just turned her back on him , and was about to leave with the man that destroyed his life .

He wanted to die . Why would she want to spare his life , if she knew he was going to kill himself ? What did she –

But his trail of thoughts were interrupted when he heard a gasp of pain coming from Kaname . He looked up . Kaname was clutching at his chest , staring , shocked , at Yuuki . His face had started changing its color , it was grey-ish , and cracks had appeared rapidly on his skin .

'Yuu…ki ?' he was trying to speak , horrified .

'What's happening ?' Zero asked , incredulous , as he watched Kaname fall on his knees .

But Yuuki was still focused on her brother and didn't answer him . She was clutching Artemis in her hand . It hadn't turned into a scythe , but there were electrical discharges coming from it .

' I'm sorry but … I really can't forgive you .' she said , coldly . Her tone had completely changed from before .

' I don't love you . I despise you …'

Kaname fell to the ground . He looked like he couldn't move , but he still seemed conscious .

Zero didn't know what was going on . Was she _killing_ him ?

' I want you dead . But .. Death would have been too kind . ' she said then . Kaname was staring aghast at her .

'So .. _goodnight_ , brother.' She spat the words out like acid .

'I wish you'll rot in hell . '

The minute she said the words , Kaname closed his eyes , unmoving . There was a moment of silence and no one moved , until Yuuki leaped over Kaname's body and went to unchain a stunned Zero .

'What did you do ?' he whispered .

' I put him to sleep .' she sniffled . Zero looked curiously at her . He didn't know what he was feeling .

'Only I could've done that . I-it's a Pureblood thing . ' she kept talking , but she seemed incredibly shaken .

Once he had his arms free , he put his hand on her shoulder . 'Are you ok ? '

She looked at him and tears started to pour out of her eyes . She sobbed .

Zero held her and tried to calm her down .

'It's ok , everything's going to be fine'

'It's over …'

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Yuuki and Zero remembered the day and night that followed as a blur .

They had to ask for the help of the Chairman . He had arrived at the Kuran Mansion , shocked .

Yuuki explained everything to him and she said that her only wish was for Kaname's coffin to be thrown in the ocean , where no one could ever wake him again from his slumber .

The Chairman had been very surprised at her radical choice, but he agreed to whatever she wanted . He took care of it , thanks also to the help of some trusted hunters .

The Night Class , on the other hand , dealt with the Vampires tracking the couple down .

The only people that were still looking for them then , were from the Human Police . So they used Hunter charms on Mr. Cotford to hypnotize him and make him believe a different story .

All accusations against Zero were withdrawn . The Police, the press , they all apologized for the terrible mistake they'd made .

At that point , Zero and Yuuki had nothing else to do , and , extremely tired , they headed back to Zero's apartment .

They didn't speak much during the drive home . Yuuki had been unusually quiet all the time , and Zero wondered what was going on in her mind . She kept avoiding his gaze .

He still couldn't believe what she had done . If he hadn't been chained , he knew he would have probably killed Kaname for all the pain he had caused him . But he surely hadn't expected Yuuki to be his death sentence . He had thought , deep in his heart , that Yuuki would have forgiven Kaname always and forever , no matter what he had done . But he had been wrong .

When they finally arrived at his apartment , the first thing Zero did was to throw himself on the bed . He felt tired . Like he had lived through a 50 hours long day . Yuuki laid beside him , but she looked very uncomfortable .

Zero turned to look at her . 'C'mon , shoot . I know something's going on your mind .'

She didn't reply .

'You're … still thinking about him? ' he said then , sadly .

'HOW can you think that ?' she replied . 'It's not that ! It's just …'

'What ?'

She paused for a bit .

'How can I look you in the eye , knowing that all the bad things in your life were caused by me ? Our meeting was a set up … '

'Why do you care about how we met ? '

'Why DON'T you ?' she almost yelled at him .

'Because it doesn't matter anymore ! Knowing why I met you won't change what I feel !' Zero shot

back .' Kuran might have planned my steps . I might have been a puppet , but loving you was my choice . Only MINE .'

'Are you sure about that ?'

'Wha –' he looked incredulously at her . 'Are you doubting me?!' he asked , almost breathless . 'After everything ?'

'How can you be so sure that your love for me is real , and not induced ?' she asked , looking at him with tears in her eyes .

Zero opened his mouth to speak , and then closed it again , as if he didn't know what to say .

She stared at the floor and continued . 'I'm afraid one day you'll wake up , and realize you don't really love me .. and that you could have a better life , the life that you deserve , a life without a woman that caused you nothing but despair ..'

This time he interrupted her . 'You really think that ? Yuuki , you've been the _only_ good thing in my life …'

'I'm sure that if it wasn't for me and Kaname , you would have had a lot of good things in your life . Not just one .'

' I wouldn't trade you for those things . '

She looked ,shocked , at him .

'You can't be serious..' she whispered , shaking her head .

' Don't get this wrong . It's not like I wanted those bad things to happen . I would do everything just to see my parents ,' he explained, ' and Ichiru , again . I would give my life in exchange for theirs . But … God , Yuuki ! Don't you see ?' he took a step forward and placed his hands on her shoulders .

'We can't change the past . No matter what we do . It's no use for us to think " what if ?" . Things went that way . And as a result , you and I met .' He paused .

His bright moonstone eyes were staring right into her chocolate ones , as if he was trying to make her understand something vital , and she couldn't help but think that he was more handsome than ever .

'So , there's no real problem . Unless _you_ are not sure of your feelings . Because I'm sure I do love you , and that that won't change . I don't need a _better_ life , as you said , if I can't have you . Life will never be _better _for me , if you're not around . '

She smiled at him through her tears .

' I've always loved you , Zero . I'm sorry if I've never been good at showing it … '

He smiled back at her and stroked her cheek with his thumb .

'I just wish we could leave all this behind and move on , Z . Start over . A blank slate. '

'We can , midget .' he reassured her , and she chuckled . 'We'll start again . Stop being such a worrywart …'

And in that very moment , she believed him .

Somehow , she knew . She knew everything was going to be alright .

She would figure out how to survive , in a way or another .

Because she had Zero with her , and she didn't have to worry about anything anymore .

And when he closed the space between them , she just got lost in his embrace .

××ιlιlι═════════════ιlιlι ××

**Author's note ( again ) :** I hope you didn't get too bored and that you liked how things turned out . I was planning on writing an Epilogue , maybe 10 years later or something , but I don't know if I will , I can't promise anything . Please review and let me know if you'd like to read that ! *hugs *


	13. Epilogue

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Epilogue

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**15 years later**

It had been fifteen long years since the infamous Kaname Kuran had mysteriously disappeared . The Vampire Society had been , all of the sudden , devoid of a leader , and so he had promptly been substituted by the princess , the only one left of the Kuran bloodline .

No one in the Senate had believed she would have lasted much . No one had anticipated that Yuuki Cross Kuran would have been the key for an agreement with the Hunter Association , establishing the peace between the two races .

No one could have predicted what happened .

Never in the history of Vampirism had a pureblood (or a noble ) married a hunter . But even if it was so unusual ,so _impossible_ to even think something like that could happen , the Council had to admit there was no written law against it .

Many in conservative party showed dissent and disapproval , but the marriage between the Hunter Association President and the Princess of Vampires happened anyway , proclaiming a truce for the years to come .

The peace that Kaien Cross and Juuri and Haruka Kuran had for so long wanted , had finally been achieved .

Most of the geniuses of the Night Class were hired by the Princess herself to study and find a cure for the humans who had been bitten by purebloods, to prevent them from falling to level End .

Aidoh Hanabusa , who had joined the cause as a volunteer , was the one that eventually discovered the cure . He loved working for that project , helping people with that problem , since he had once cared about a girl who had fallen to level E . ( **Author's Note** : remember Fuka from the Vampire Knight novel ? "The Ice Blue Sin ?")

The cure reduced considerably the amount of vampires executed by the hunters .

Everything had changed in a short amount of time .

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It was Christmas Eve .

The night was cold , and it was snowing outside . In the Kuran Mansion , however , there was a very warm atmosphere , thanks to the fireplace and the many Christmas lights.

A man in his thirties ( but he didn't look older than 21 ) was taking a nap on the couch . He had fallen asleep the very minute he had stepped in the house , too tired after the long working day . The H.A. had always been extremely crowded during Christmas time , and since he was the President , he couldn't afford breaks .

His wife was in the next room , putting some last minute Christmas decorations .

She had been busy all day preparing the party , she wanted everything to be perfect that day .

It was odd that she was still there , but Yuuki had firmly wanted to stay in the Kuran Mansion . Even if she had a lot of unpleasant memories there , it was still the place she had grown up in , the place where all of her relatives had lived for centuries . She and Zero had decided that it was the best place to start over , to start a family . She could finally think of that house as a home .

And besides …

She was so happy that it didn't matter where she was staying , as long as she was with Zero .

She was lost in her daydream when suddenly the doorbell rang , announcing that the first guests had arrived . She ran to open to door , and found Yagari , Kaito , and a very cheery Chairman waiting for her . She couldn't help but notice that the latter was wearing one of those Santa reindeers antlers hats .

' Merry Christmas , my sweet little DAUGHTER !' the Chairman shouted in the hallway , holding her tightly like he was seeing her for the first time in ages .

Yuuki laughed and held him back . ' Dad , we last saw each other a week ago !'

'But it seemed like forever , didn't it ? !' he said , almost dying of happiness because he had called him "Dad" .

She chuckled lightly . She then greeted Kaito and Yagari , took their coats , and then showed them the way .

'Where are the others ?' she asked to the Chairman when they reached the living room .

And with "others" she meant Yori , Hanabusa , Akatsuki and Ruka , Rima , Shiki and Takuma … It had , in fact, become a Christmas tradition to spend the festivities all of them together in the Kuran Mansion , like a big family . And since some of them had to travel to come back to the Mansion , they would stay there for a few days .

'They are on their way !' the Chairman responded as he sat down on the sofa .

'What about our Mr. President ?' asked Kaito as he stole food from the table ( as usual ) .

'Oh , he's asleep ' Yuuki told him .

'Was ' Zero interrupted her , entering the room . He had ruffled hair and a sleepy look on his face . But despite that , he looked as handsome as ever . Yuuki greeted him with a kiss .

'What the hell did you put on your head , old man ?' said Zero with a smirk . 'You look ridiculous.'

' I told him that too , brother . He never listens .' chimed in Kaito , a look of disapproval on his face .

'Kiryuu !' said the Chairman , outraged . 'This hat is f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c ! '

Yuuki kept smiling all the while . They were going to have a great time .

××ιlιlι═════════════ιlιlι××

Later that night , after the dinner was over , everyone went to sleep in their rooms .

Yuuki was switching the lights off in the living room and was about to go upstairs , when she felt a soft hand grab her wrist . She turned surprised to look at Zero , who was looking at her with a somewhat awkward and goofy smile.

'Hey,' he whispered .

'Hey.' she answered back , smiling to him .

'Can we … go for a walk ?'

'What's with the mysterious attitude ?' she said , but he didn't answer , instead , he kissed her , preventing her from speaking . 'Just come with me .'

She followed him outside . He lead the way , pulling her by the hand , until they arrived to the lake next to the house . It was one of their favorite spots to be alone .

She sat next to him on the grass , while he held her close .

They stayed like that , in silence , for what it seemed like a long time . Kissing , holding , just enjoying each other's company after the long day, until Yuuki found herself laying on top of him looking at the stars reflecting in his gorgeous moonstone eyes , while he stroked gently her cheek with his thumb .

He looked lost in his thoughts , like was trying to find a way to tell her something .

' C'mon . Whatever it is you are thinking , tell me .' She broke the silence, knowing somehow that the needed to tell her something , because he had brought her somewhere no one with a vampire hearing could hear what they were saying .

He smiled ruefully . 'I'm afraid you'll be angry at me. '

'Shoot. It's not like I'm gonna bite you if I get mad , you know.' She air quoted him . He laughed , remembering instantly the last time he had told her the same thing , in Cross Academy . It seemed like a gazillion years before .

' Before … at the dinner party .' he started , then paused .'When Ruka … mentioned Kaname . I saw the look on your face .'

She stiffened , and slowly got free from his embrace , sitting on the cold grass . 'What look ?'

He came too to a sitting position and looked at her .

' Are you.. still sad ? About what we did ?' he asked, hesitantly .

'We haven't talked about him in ages …' she said , staring at the water in front of them .

'Just answer to my question.' he told her , putting a hand on her shoulder , as if he knew that even talking about him would be painful to her .

'No.'

' No you don't want to answer me , or no you aren't sad ?'

'No , I'm not sad .' she stated firmly .

'Liar .' he said , chuckling softly , like he was expecting that answer from her , and then lied down again on the grass , both his hands behind his head .

'I'm not lying .'

'Yes , you are . Because deep down , even after everything he's done , you still feel bad and guilty for what we did to him .You don't have to pretend.' he said sincerely .

'You mean what_ I_ did .' she said bitterly .

'What we both did . I didn't stop you , remember ? And to be honest I didn't even want to .'

They were silent for a moment . Then , looking somewhere distant , at the sky , he started speaking again .

'But … Yuuki , listen to me . He has suffered enough , don't you think ? Fifteen years , locked in a box in the depths of the ocean, alone … With his veins burning and burning because he couldn't feed .'

Yuuki turned to look at him . She was surprised in an unimaginable way , because Zero was talking about Kaname , and he didn't have that angry , anguished look on his face he usually had when he talked about that man . He seemed completely at peace .

'What are you trying to tell me ?' she asked .

He then reached out for her and held her hand .

'I just …don't want to be a bad person . All that hate, is pointless. Even though that man destroyed me , destroyed my family , I …I've forgiven him , Yuuki . You should too .'

She was speechless . 'Oh , Zero …'

'I just don't want to see that sad look on your face ever again ' he admitted awkwardly .

She smiled a teary smile and then kissed him . 'You won't . I've never been happier, Z .'

'I really don't know what I've done to deserve someone like you . I love you so much ' she told him .

'Ditto.' He replied , smiling .

Then , he pulled a folded envelope out of his pockets and handed it to her .

'What is it ?' she asked , curious .

' This is my Christmas present .' he told her mysteriously .

She giggled . 'Another one ?' she said , since they had already exchanged presents .

'Let's just say this one is very different .'

She took it and opened it . She found a photograph . It was like one of those paparazzi pictures , where the people are completely unaware of being photographed . It showed a crowded fast food and groups of people eating , sitting at the tables .

She looked quizzically at Zero with a slight smile , completely lost . 'Am I missing something ?'

'Look harder' he encouraged her .

She stared again at it , until she noticed one person in particular and her heart stopped .

A tall , dark haired man with ruby eyes .

'What the …' she said , out of breath .

There was no mistaking it . That man was her brother.

And that picture obviously didn't date back to fifteen years before .

God , he looked so _different_ !

' I don't understand …' she said , seeming completely at loss of what to do .

' It's a very long story …' he said. 'All you need to know , is that you can stop being sad for him . Because he's free , happy , and … _human_ .'

' WHAT ?' Yuuki almost yelled , shocked .

' Yep ! 100% human , and he doesn't even remember about us anymore , Yuuki .'

'But it's impossible ..' she couldn't believe to what she was hearing .

' Do you seriously think that the Kaname Kuran we know could be nonchalantly eating at _McDonald's , _wearing a sweatshirt and jeans ? No Armani trousers , no Dolce and Gabbana shirt ?' he joked .

She smiled . Yeah , it was very unlikely .

'When I freed him , we had a long talk , and I gave him a choice . He chose this. A chance at happiness . No longer being bound by the horrible things he had done .'

' But I thought that only purebloods could turn one of their kind to a human .'

'Well , I thought that too . But then I discovered that every spell has a loophole .'

'And you helped him.'

'Yeah.'

'God , you have the kindest heart.'

'Nah , I'm not kind .'he replied .

' But I have to admit that I'm pretty amazing ' he said then , flashing a 300 watt smile towards her.

She couldn't agree more .

' I still don't know how you managed to keep all this a secret till now . I drink your blood almost every day !' she said , incredulous .

'Us hunters , we know a lot of tricks …' he said mischievously .

'Oh really ?'she asked him , smirking . ' Mind to show me some of them ?'

He laughed . 'Not at all , princess .'

Before he captured her lips in a passionate kiss , she looked at him as if she was seeing him for the first time .

He had grown so much , her Zero . He wasn't the broken boy anymore , the one who hated purebloods , who hated himself , the one she had met almost twenty years before .

His wounds had finally healed . He was happy , and happy to show it .

' Till death do us part … ' he whispered on her lips .

'No , Z.' she shook her head.

'Not even death can tear us apart .'

THE END .

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**Author's Note :** Sorry for the wait guys ! I had to work a lot during the last months , and so I haven't had much time to write .

Did you like how things turned out ? :) Let me know .

When I started the story , I didn't want a fairytale ending , but since I don't think the manga will end in a good way , I decided to give Z&Y their happy ending … I hope you liked it .

I really want to THANK YOU all of you that have read my story . The fact that you spent some of your time to read it and review it means a lot to me . :')

This is for you !

*hugs*

PS : Have you read the latest VK chapter ? ( ZERO , I'M SO PROUD OF YOU , BABY !) I can't believe VK is ending. What am I going to do with my life ? LOL .


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